


Wormholes and Other Theoretical Concepts

by Santai



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Angst, Canon Rewrite, Canon Timeline, Canon Universe, Developing Relationship, During Canon, Eventual Loki/Tony Stark, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, FrostIron - Freeform, Hurt/Comfort, Iron Man 1, M/M, Missing Scene, No Spoilers, Post-Iron Man 1, Pre-Avengers (2012), Secret Relationship, Strangers to lovers to enemies to friends to lovers again
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2020-02-10 11:19:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 83,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18659389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Santai/pseuds/Santai
Summary: Tony Stark is reeling from the wildest couple of weeks of his life. Afghanistan, the Iron Man suit, Obidiah. So when he comes home to find a 'Prince' locked in his workshop? At this point, why not offer the guy a drink?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bit of a rewrite the MCU with what I like to imagine could have happened in a slightly alternate canon. Timeline follows the events of the films and there's a fair bit of assumption of a broad knowledge of the film plots but not necessarily the details. I really hope you enjoy!

Tony exhaled through his mouth trying to finally relax. He leant with his back against the front door of his thankfully quiet Malibu house trying to go some way to processing the last few days. The whole Afghanistan thing was only a few weeks ago. Then the suit and, Jesus, Obidiah, that prick. Telling the world mid-press conference about this new superhero identity against the advice of the Men in Black was the least of his concerns right now. But Agent Coulson didn’t seem to agree. Luckily for him, Pepper Potts was still apparently a magic worker and she’d gotten Tony out of that press conference with only minor tinnitus from all the questions that had been hurled his way.  

Now that he’d made it home, he was just looking forward to a little alone time. 

His footsteps echoed comfortingly in the empty house as he crossed the entrance hall to the flight of curved steps that descended into the workshop below, discarding his suit jacket on a nearby sofa as he went. Now everyone knew about the Iron Man, maybe he was less likely to be shot out of the sky while he was doing his test flights. Or maybe it would be more, he’d yet to find out how Rhodey felt about the situation.  

The touchpad beeped as he entered the code and the workshop door slid open with a soft hiss. He stepped through, pulling off his tie as he went then paused. He should really get changed before tinkering around. This was an expensive suit after all and- 

“Ah finally,” a smooth, unfamiliar voice sounding from the kitchen area of the workshop made him psychically flinch and turn abruptly, a scowl on his face.  

A few feet away, a man was sat crosslegged on his countertop, at the start of the process of getting to his feet. His presence was curious enough on its own, were the guy not dressed as though he had come here straight from some strange convention that was half Star Trek and half medieval fayre. From what Tony could tell, his green, black, and gold outfit was made up of cotton, leather and what looked like it could be literal gold. Tony stood in fascinated stillness as the man stood from the counter, easing his shoulders back to a confident six foot two. The white lighting over his head exaggerated sharp, refined features and raven hair that was fashioned back over his head, flicking up ever so slightly at the base of his skull. The guy took a moment to readjust the light jacket he was wearing and brush down his trousers with his free hand, while the other held an open book, his thumb still in between the pages, rsaving a place. Once he was apparently satisfied with his appearance, he finally deigned to look at Tony with an expression that was almost bored.  

“I presume you are the owner of this building?” the man asked, when Tony did not immediately react to his presence, “Or at the very least would be able to furnish me with some means of egress.”  

Tony blinked a couple of times to make sure sleeplessness hadn’t caused hallucinations, but when the man remained defiantly present, he rubbed his eyes, and then threw his hands up with exasperation.  “So, I survive all this bullshit, just for them to send this Crow superfan,” he grumbled to himself and turned to where he kept the special whiskey in his desk. If he was gonna die he was going to do it drunk, “Coulson send you? I know he’s pissed about the whole Iron Man thing, but sending someone to break into my workshop to kill me seems a bit over the top. I mean I assume you are going to kill me. If you were gonna take something you wouldn’t still be here, skulking in my kitchen. Sorry if I kept you waiting. Enjoy that book?” 

A slight frown marred the man's otherwise smooth complexion. He glanced at the book, then around the room, then back to Tony, “I’m afraid I don’t know this Coulson you’re referring to and I certainly have no intention of doing you any harm. Forgive my rudeness, my name is Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard.” 

The guy lifted his chin with obvious pride but it was deflated somewhat as Tony regarded him flatly, “Should’ve known the name would match the outfit,” he muttered and the guy - Loki - scowled and glanced down at himself, trying to find what Tony was talking about. Seeing that, Tony couldn’t help but smirk a little. Whoever Loki was – a prince was a bit of a stretch of the imagination – he clearly was not here to hurt him or else he would have done it already. He relaxed a little and his curiosity piqued. He flicked his eyebrows up and down then continued the journey to his whiskey, a little less concerned about turning his back on the guy now, “So, if you’re not gonna kill me, you gonna tell me what you do want.” 

Loki looked up at the question, though not without subtly attempting to readjust the lines of his outfit. He regarded Tony curiously for a moment before starting, “As I said, all I ask is that I may leave.”  

Tony rose an eyebrow at him as he reached his desk, “Uh huh…Alright then, new question. How did you get in in the first place?”  

Loki swallowed and flexed the fingers in his free hand in what seemed to be a nervous tick. 

“There won’t be any trouble,” Tony assured him, “I’ll even pay if you want. Information on how you’ve managed to get in here without tripping any one of the many many alarms is very valuable to me.” 

“Ah…I have no use for your money, sir,” Loki started, then gave a short breathy chuckle and shook his head a little, “Rather it is simply somewhat embarrassing. I was exploring a new found passage between Asgard and Midgard, and well, it seems that this one was one-way. It can happen sometimes, though it is rare. Perhaps I should be more cautious...”  

Should’ve known there'd be more than a little crazy on the guy…Tony shook his head and pulled open the drawer to his stash, “Is there anyone I should call? To come get you.” 

Loki exhaled, “I forget we are no longer known here,” he held up the book he was holding to show Tony the front cover. Even over the distance, Tony recognized it as A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking, “If this is a factual summary of your current knowledge, then your people refer to them as wormholes.” 

Glasses clinked as Tony pulled a couple of out his desk, then brought out the decanter, “So, let me get this straight. You were exploring a wormhole between two places I’ve never heard of, something that is, to my knowledge, a theoretical concept which only  _theoretically_ exists in the deepest parts of space. But this specific  _theoretical_   _concep_ _t_ brought you from Aztec or wherever and spat you out...in my kitchen. And by inference I can probably assume that this not the first nor I suspect the strangest theoretical concept you’ve explored.” 

A soft smile pulled Loki’s lips, amused by the explanation and he lowered the book, “That is a rather reductive explanation but broadly speaking correct,” the smile fell and he glanced to the doorway, “There are others I can use to return home, however that this room was so highly secure was information I did not have until the door would not open and the infernal, omnipresent voice refuses to acknowledge my presence,” he sighed as he returned his gaze to Tony, “I have been stuck here for nearly four hours.” 

Tony was took his time in pouring a measure out into one of the glasses if only to hide the amount of time it was taking him to try and work out what the hell was going on. Usually, he was pretty good at reading people but the sheer level of wild that this guy was spouting was throwing him off. Plus it was hard not to notice how good this guy made the fantasy space outfit look. Loki was showing minor hints of irritation when Tony finally looked back to him. “Hey Jarvis, there’s someone here. Any explanation for me?” 

“Apologies sir,” Jarvis answered on cue and the scowl of an affronted man creased Loki’s forehead, “Aside from an unfamiliar vocal signature, my sensors do not detect anyone else in the room with you,”  Tony watched Loki roll his eyes with annoyance as Jarvis spoke. “Logic concluded that the voice was most likely the television having tripped on. There is no heat signature, nor any human biological signs.” 

“It is a sophisticated artificial intelligence…” Loki murmured, almost in realization eyes narrowed at the ceiling before he looked back to Tony, “though I suspect that perhaps whatever your sensors are, they are not calibrated to Asgardian biology.” 

That piqued Tony’s curiosity further. Had he masked the sensors somehow? No way. He was willing to believe that perhaps he’d snuck in here, hacking the doors, but to trick Jarvis? That just wasn’t possible. Or maybe this was just a prank by someone to prove he wasn’t as clever as he thought.  Crazier yet, was he telling the truth? He lifted the decanter again, “You want a drink?” He asked, already pouring it out. 

Loki’s expression shifted to one of cautious interest and he took half a step closer, the first move he’d made since standing upright, “A curious reaction to finding a stranger locked in what seems to be a highly protected room. Would you not rather I simply leave? I would be entirely agreeable to that prospect.” 

Tony didn’t look at him as topped up his own glass, “Well, I’m a curious guy. Very curious indeed to find out a bit more about a man who can break into what is the most technologically advanced room on Earth, avoids detection by the AI that monitors that security, and when he finds himself trapped? Selects a book on physics, and takes a seat until discovered by the owner of that room apparently four hours later. So, your highness, would you humor me in answering a couple of questions,” Tony lifted the glass and held it out and shrugged one shoulder, “Unless you’ve got somewhere else to be.”  

At that, Loki halted his slow advance and eyed the drink with a dark suspicion and something in his posture shifted in such a way that suddenly Tony was re-evaluating how safe he was right now, “I will not be a prisoner here, sir.” 

“No one said that,” Tony assured him as casually as possible, glass still held out, “Trust me, I know what it’s like to be held captive and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone,” he nodded to the entrance to the workshop, “The door is unlocked if you wanna leave. Just thought you might want a quick drink in good company before you do.” 

Loki turned his eyes on the door for a long moment and to his surprise, Tony was genuinely worried that the guy might just leave. Once whatever consideration Loki was undertaken was completed, his posture relaxed and a smile pressed into Loki's cheek. He looked back to Tony, then crossed the room in just a couple of long strides. It was only now that they were a couple of feet apart, did Tony appreciate just how tall this guy was. The smile had gained confidence as when took the offered drink and inspected it. “I must say, this is not the kind of reception I was expecting once discovered.” 

Tony stuffed his free hand in his pocket and took a sip of his own drink, maintaining eye contact as he did, “You would not believe the week I’ve been having. Finding some scrawny Doctor Who wannabe crouched in my kitchen reading Stephen Hawking is actually somewhat refreshing,” Tony replied, watching as Loki brought the drink to his nose, smelling it, holding his gaze with a soft smile on his lips, “It’s whiskey. They not have whiskey in Assbutt?” 

“Typically,  _Asgard_ has liquor that is somewhat stronger. But this does not seem unpleasant,” Loki replied, then narrowed his sharp green eyes slightly, that smile growing ever so slightly, “You don’t know what that is do you?” 

“Not a clue. Do you know where you are?”  

“Midgard,” Loki answered, sounding bemused it was even a question. 

Tony pressed his lips together and inhaled, “Sure. Don’t know what that is either. You know who am I?” 

Loki’s eyebrow rose and he ran his eyes over him as though he would be wearing a nametag, “Should I?” 

A playful smile spread over Tony’s face, “Interesting. Well, your highness, if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to sate my curiosity just a little before you wander off back to wherever you say you’ve come from. Besides, I bet you’ve never met anyone like me before."  

There was an amused glint in Loki’s eyes as he finally lifted the drink to his mouth a sipped it. He held the drink on his tongue a moment before his throat bobbed as it was swallowed. He licked the remnants of it from his lips and a full grin bloomed on his face. It caused an incredibly unexpected stir in Tony. 

Loki ran his gaze over Tony evaluatively, “I can find some time.” 


	2. Chapter 2

The night was clear, the stars were shining and the bright moonlight was reflecting off the low waves of the open ocean in gently bobbing lines of white light. A more poetic person might describe it as beautiful, spiritual, or some other adjective that Tony rarely had use for. To him, a clear night was just a safe night. The emptiness of the sky above him and the equally devoid ocean beneath meant he could see for miles in every direction. This far out to sea there wasn’t too much to get in the way of his test flights. He had free reign to open up the engines of the new suit and practice some of that finely tuned movement that was mechanized, personal flight. A clear night meant that he could see any other flying objects that might get in the way of that, identified or otherwise.  

The existence of aliens hadn’t exactly been something that Tony had spent much time considering in his life. It hadn’t mattered. That is until one of popped up in his workshop a couple of days ago. His arguably unhealthy level cynicism had clutched desperately to the belief that the man who called himself Loki was just some super hacker with a crazy story, or was just crazy. But as their conversation stretched out over more than a couple of drinks, it started to become less and less feasible that what he was talking about was fiction. It somewhere around Loki’s brief description of what he called the Bifrost, that Tony realized there may actually be something to what the guy was spouting. It had sparked a paranoid existential crisis that was not unexpected given the realization that humans were not alone in the universe, nor were they the most advanced civilization that existed. The latter of those was not an easy admission but given Loki’s advanced understanding of quantum physics, his disinterest in Jarvis (the Earth’s most advanced AI), and of the Iron Man suit, it was an unavoidable one. Tony hadn’t exactly gone into detail about them but Loki hadn’t asked about them either. When Tony expressed his concerns, Loki just chuckled and ‘reassured’ him that Asgard had already conquered Midgard a thousand years prior and had no interest in doing so again. It was almost enough for him to pick up the weapons development projects again. Almost.  

Turns out, where his words failed, there was something about Loki’s perpetually calm, controlled demeanor that did reassure. After accepting the drink, the guy had taken a seat in one of the sofas in the workshop. Though he started out somewhat unsure and unnecessarily polite, that had quickly devolved as he relaxed. Eventually, he relaxed into his comfy position, which was stretched out on his back across one of the sofas, his head resting on one arm, crossed ankles on the other. It had allowed his jacket fall open, one side hanging just a couple of inches off the floor, revealing a slim fit dark green cotton shirt that lifted a little at the waist when Loki brought his arm up to take a sip of his drink. The soft definitions of lean muscle underneath had not gone unnoticed. But that was just an added bonus to the conversation. 

It was rare that anyone could hold Tony’s admittedly limited attention span for more than a few minutes, but Loki had the trump card of literally being from a different dimension. A topic that he had been happy to discuss as a concept, but as soon as they came too close to Loki’s actual life there, he made some evasive comments and changed the subject. In the nearly four hours of talking, all Tony had learnt almost nothing about him and only tidbits about his his family. There was some allusions to a ‘hot-headed’ older brother, a father with all the qualities one might expect of a strong-handed ruler, and the existence of a mother. There was not much said about his mother, which, from his own personal experience, said more than words could. After that, Loki had decided it was time for him to leave, much to Tony’s disappointment. There was a part of him that had been starting to consider a close encounter of the third kind… 

“Sir, may I suggest reducing throttle,” Jarvis cut into Tony’s brief trip down short-term memory lane, “The current cooling system does not appear to handle this new engine system at its full capacity.” 

A small model of the suit appeared in the HUD to the left of Tony’s vision with a readout that he barely glanced at, “Thought it was getting a bit toasty in here...” he tilted his arms slightly and adjusting his flightpath to circle back on himself, using the inbuilt GPS to help him pinpoint the right direction in this featureless landscape, “Let’s head home and look into that. Don’t want Dum-E getting lonely without us.” 

“Very good sir,” the HUD shifted and it began a new set of recordings, exactly what they were Tony wouldn't know until they got back but he trusted Jarvis to pick up what he needed to, “Now that your attention is not required elsewhere, I wanted to let you that the television has tripped on again and I can’t seem to turn it off. This is the second time this week. Perhaps there is a fault in the system.” 

A confused frown pulled at his eyebrows before he worked it out and the frown melted into curious smile, “You wanna show me what’s on?” 

The request was answered in the form of a small window that opened in the HUD, filled with a shot of the television that, as expected, had not tripped on. The ‘fault’ was actually meandering along the length of his kitchen worktop off to the left, wearing a similar outfit to the last time he visited.  Tony watched with a smirk as Loki stopped suddenly, his mouth moved in silent speech, then he scowled darkly at the ceiling.  

After the last visit, Tony had considered trying to do something about the sensors that so miserably failed him the last time, but the exceedingly low probability of something like that happening again had put it pretty low on his priorities. The affronted look on the ‘prince's’ face at being mistaken for a bit of broken electronics was enough to put him off ever altering the sensors at all. 

“Any audio on this feed?” Tony asked, having genuinely forgotten whether he’d bothered with anything like that when he’d built the workshop. 

The soft hush of silence recorded by less than perfect microphones played through the speakers of the helmet just in time for Loki to speak again as he tore his gaze from the ceiling and continued his slow, measured, paces into the workshop properly.  

“ _Yes, well thankfully for me I don’t need your acknowledgement to exist_ ,” he was speaking to Jarvis. The fact that he could speak fluent English had been a bit of a sticking point in their discussions the last they met and Tony still wasn’t sure whether he actually believed in the explanation of this Allspeak, but by that point Tony had decided to pick his battles.  

“My understanding of the world is based entirely on input from the physical sensors that exist in that world,” Jarvis replied to Loki in the workshop, his voice sounding a little odd through the speakers in Tony's helmet, “I’m afraid my logic cannot accept a reality for which there is no evidence.” 

“ _I understan_ _d that_ _but surely, the balance probability of a prerecorded voice from an electrical device responding so fluidly to your spontaneous speech must eventually begin to tip to favor the existence of a being that your sensors simply cannot detect,”_  Lok i ’s  attention  had fixed  on Tony's computer desk, and his wandering turned in that direction as he continued talking,  “ _I appreciate that your creator is a vastly intelligent mortal but he remains mortal and is bound by the same misguided mortal preconceptions as almost every other.”_  

_“_ Did you just call me vastly intelligent?” Tony asked, grateful that Jarvis was continuing to develop his mind reading abilities and had patched his voice through to the workshop when he’d done the audio. Loki froze in place at the sound, raising his chin and standing a little straighter in vain attempt to hide the satisfying note of surprise that he was glancing around the room with narrowed, suspicious eyes.  

“ _Stark?”_  

_“_ I’m flattered, really,” Tony continued, adjusting his flight path as the mansion came into view over the horizon, “Not sure how I feel about the preconceptions thing, the fact I didn’t try and blast you back into space the moment I found you skulking about already means I’m one of the most open-minded mortals you’ve ever met.” 

The surprise faded a little from Loki’s face and his shoulders relaxed a little as he continued to move towards Tony’s desk, though his eyes were searching the room, taking another couple of cautious steps, “ _Where exactly are you?”_  

_“_ Out,” Tony answered deliberately evasively, “But, I'll be back before you can say Fermi Paradox.” 

The corner of Loki’s lip lifted, but his attention had gone back to inspecting the contents of Tony's desk now that he was satisfied he wasn’t going to be jumped out on, “ _Fermi Paradox.”_  

_“_ Ha ha, E.T,” Tony tilted himself up as he came up to the base of ocean cliff that held his home up over the sea, “Right, I’m signing off. The landings can be a little tricky. Clear the runway, coming in hot.” 

He just had time to see a questioning frown on Loki’s forehead before the rectangle flickered and shrank into non-existence, leaving the HUD clear for the guiding arrows Tony had programmed to overlay his screen. He’d done enough structural damage to the supporting walls of his garage tunnel to risk throwing himself into them again. Besides, now that he had an audience waiting for him on the other end he needed to make this perfect.  

He came up over the cliff edge and arced lazily round and down into the tunnel with one smooth practiced motion. The augmented reality arrows fell away under him as he flew down and through the garage door that Jarvis opened for him at just the right time.  

As he swooped into the vaulted workshop, he immediately spotted Loki stood over his desk, in the process of replacing the screwdriver he had been peering at as Tony came into the room. He was watching with interest but it was not the immense awe that it should have been. Tony hovered dramatically in the air for a moment over the suit’s podium to emphasize how awesome this situation was but when Loki’s expression remained steadfastly mild, Tony cut the power to the thrusters and dropped to the floor with a clunk. The hydraulics in the suit hissed and whirred as Tony stood upright and allowed face plate to flip upwards  so he could share his affronted scowl with Loki.  

“Hey, Earth to Loki, did you not see me just fly in here?” he asked, incredulously, gesturing back to the now closed garage door, “I can do it again if you missed it.” 

“There's no need, I saw the first time,” Loki replied, one mildly amused eyebrow cocked slightly.  

“Clearly you didn’t or you wouldn’t be standing there like cycled in here on a toy bike,” Tony informed him as he waited for the de-suiting process to begin. He’d refined it a lot over the weeks but it still required him to stand still as the array of robotic arms rose from the floor around the podium and went to work.  

“I’m afraid flight does not impress me,” Loki said idly watching the robots remove the suit, “My brother can do the same thing.” 

“Of course he can…” Tony grumbled as the process removed the last couple of plates, allowing him to finally step down from the podium where Dum-E was rolling over, a white towel hanging from his arm. Tony plucked it from his grasp and wiped the helmet grime from his face as he said, “What are you doing here anyway? You trip and fall into a quasar?” 

Loki chuckled and Tony suddenly remembered what a fantastic sound it was, “I am actually here entirely deliberately.” 

“Exciting, one small step for you,” Tony draped the towel over Dum-E's arm and the robot wheeled off, “And one giant leap for...your kind. To what do I owe this entirely deliberate self-imprisoning in my workshop?” 

“I brought you a gift,” Loki answered, lifting his chin a little. Whatever this gift was, he was proud of it. “A thank you for being such a gracious host the last time we met.” 

Curiosity arched Tony’s eyebrow, but he managed to pull down his poker face before the excitement of getting a ‘gift’ from a being from an extra-dimensional being could get the better of him. Couldn’t let Loki have that after on him after the guy had been so disappointed in the suit’s arrival. What the mask was not prepared for, however, was watching as Loki made a few intricate movements with his hands and suddenly he was holding a long shard of dull grey rock. Tony’s mouth dropped open, and his eyebrows knitted together, for less than second before he sniffed and reset his expression, hoping that maybe Loki hadn’t noticed it. It was hard to tell whether the smugness in his expression was the deliberate or just a part of his resting face.  

“Ok, cool, you can summon rocks from nowhere too.” This was just another one of the many, many things that Tony filed away into ‘ _Things that shouldn’t_ _be possible_ _but_ _apparently are_ _and I’m too tired to work out why right now’_ section of his mind that seemed to be  reserved solely  for  things that  Loki  did , “Just for comparison, how do  _you_ do it?” 

“Decades of careful study of the arcane arts,” Loki paused and tilted his head at Tony, an amused glint in his eye, “Why? How do you do it?” 

“I wish I could tell you, but then I’d get kicked out the magic circle,” Tony answered already not paying attention, shifting his focus to the shard in Loki’s hand. It was about a foot and half long of dark rock that glittered with what looked like fragments of blue metal. At first glance it looked like a metal ore, but not one that Tony had ever seen before. Tony reached out and touched it, “This from Asgard?” 

Loki nodded, keeping hold of the shard in one outstretched hand as Tony ran his fingers along it, “It is used to forge some of our greatest weapons.” 

Tony glanced up at him briefly then gripped it, ready for Loki to let go. When he did, the sheer weight of it took him completely by surprise. He grunted as the fifty pounds of rock that Loki had been hold as though it was half a bag of sugar dropped several inches before he recovered enough to take the weight. The scowl he threw in Loki’s direction was met with an amused smirk and Tony silently added the concept of Asgardian super-strength to that list, “You know, I would have settled for a bottle of that liquor you talked about.” 

“This seemed a more fitting gift for a smith such as yourself,” Loki nodded back to the Iron Man suit stood now reassembled and stood stoically on its podium, “Besides, I’m afraid you wouldn’t be able to handle the liquor.” 

Tony turned to lower the shard onto his desk, admiring it as he did, “We don’t know each other very well so I’m gonna let that comment slide,” he said over his shoulder, laying the shard gently onto the table top, “Jarvis you’re going to have to take a look at this for me. You said you use this for weapons? What kind of weapons?” 

“You must know I’m not about to simply divulge the power of my homeland,” Loki said, pointedly.  

Tony shrugged as he turned back to face him, “Well, you’ve already seen the best we got and you looked bored so I don’t what you’re worried about.” 

“I am not impressed by your suit. Though I am curious about what powers it,” Loki’s gaze ticked down to Tony’s chest, “And you, I suspect.” 

Tony looked down at the arc reactor, glowing blue through his tank top in the center of his chest. He hesitated for perhaps a moment too long, then tapped it with his finger, “This old thing? This is run of the mill normal here on Bestgard. What? You guys don’t have these?” 

“You’re a poor liar, Stark.” 

“That’s actually not true,” Tony replied, idly scratching at the skin around the reactor, doing his best not to think about the dark lines that has started to filter out from it. That probably wasn’t a problem.  

Loki considered him quietly for a moment before asking straight out, “May I see it?” 

Tony scrunched his face up in exaggerated distaste at the thought. Not at the thought of Loki getting up close and personal, that was actually something that had been gaining favor in his mind since his reappearance. “I mean, I’d love to let you have a fiddle about with the very thing keeping me alive. But the last time someone did that, they ripped it out, left me for dead, put it in their own robot and my P.A. had to drop a building on him to save my ass. So I’m a little sensitive about personal space right now.” 

“I’m sorry…I didn’t know,” Loki said carefully, looking the more earnest than Tony had seen before but it didn’t last long. The honesty was quickly dropped and replaced with that more familiar and oddly, more comforting, smirk, “If it helps, I would gain nothing by killing you, quite the opposite in fact. If you were to die in here then I fear I would be trapped in this room arguing with your AI until one of us expires. And I actually don’t know which I would rather be first." 

Tony raised an eyebrow at him, trying not to let on how easily he had just side-stepped almost all of Tony’s reservations.  

“Allow me this and the next time I come I’ll bring you some of that liquor you’re so determined to try,” the smile on Loki’s face was easy and confident and so god damn disarming that Tony suspected that he used this tactic to get his way on an almost daily basis. The annoying thing was that it was working on him too.  

“Oh, so there’ll be a next time, huh?” he huffed a little, and then shook his head in disbelief at himself, “Alright fine, but if you try anything my dying breaths will be spent convincing Jarvis that you’re just a broken gramophone.” 

“Whatever that is I’m sure it’s incredibly offensive and consider me suitably insulted,” Loki laid a hand on his chest.  

After a second of holding his gaze, Tony glanced at the shard of metal, back to the suit stood to attention, then at the exit, before heaving a sigh, and hooking a finger over the collar of his black tank top, pulling it down far enough to show the full circle of the reactor. 

Loki’s gaze locked to it immediately and his smile faded as it was overtaken by keen interest. He took half a step forward and Tony had to fight the impulse to step back. Apparently, he did not fight it subtly because Loki hesitated and glanced up at him, in silent question. When Tony didn’t move any further, his attention was returned to the arc reactor and he took another step forward then stopped. With less than a couple of inches between them and Loki so focused on his chest, Tony found himself taking the time to study the guy’s face, searching for any emotion in that impassive expression. He’d not been this close to the guy before. On their last visit, Loki had been careful to keep Tony at arm's length, not an unexpected given the circumstances. But clearly, whatever reservations he had had the last time had been reconsidered in the time since the last they’d seen each other. Loki didn’t feel any threat here. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was still to be confirmed. It either meant that he was trusting enough to assume Tony wouldn’t do anything to him. Or, the worse theory was that Loki was so confident in his superior power, that the idea that Tony could even hurt him didn’t register.  

The movement of Loki’s hand rising slowly to his chest caught his attention, and Tony realized he might soon be coming to the answer to his conundrum in a very sudden, final experiment.  

Loki’s fingertips gently brushed the metal of the reactor and a wave of sensation flashed out across his chest.  

Tony gasped at the sudden feeling and took a quick step back, finding his progress blocked as the back of his legs hit his desk. His hand flew to his chest, probing for the cause, the wound, whatever it was that Loki had done to him. But all felt normal. When he looked down, there was nothing out of the ordinary, just the steady blue glow of his reactor.  The moment he stepped away from Loki’s touch, the feeling had faded away leaving no remnant. Tony snapped his gaze back to Loki for an explanation.  

“Are you alright?” Loki hadn’t moved when Tony did, remaining frozen with his hand up, palm forward in a gesture of peace. The expression of genuine concern on his face was so unexpected that Tony almost didn’t recognize it, “Did I hurt you?” 

Tony looked at him then down at his chest one final time, and he exhaled, suddenly a little embarrassed by the apparently excessive reaction, “What was that?” 

“I'm not sure…” Loki frowned at his hand as he rubbed his fingers together experimentally, “Perhaps there is a reactive force between my shield and the energy that your heart is producing.” 

“Shield?” Tony frowned, too distracted by the situation to realize what Loki had mistaken the reactor for, “What shield?” 

Loki presented the hand he had been peering at and shimmering blue light flickered over it, up his arm, and dissipating over his shoulder in a fashion that indicated it continued further but could not be seen, “You have your armor, and this is mine. It is somewhat rudimentary so that it can be maintained for long periods of time. I wear it almost always. It can deflect small mass based projectiles, and some energy weapons if needs be, though those are rare. I hope its use does not offend you.”  

“Electro-static manipulation of the energy fields around you?” Tony took his best guess at giving this literal magic some sort of logical explanation as he stepped closer, frowning at Loki’s hand. He’d given up trying hide his astonishment. It would get very difficult very quickly. He was so distracted by Loki's shield, he’d barely noticed the fact he’d brought his hand up to touch Loki's outstretched fingers. The tingling feeling returned at the contact, spreading down his palm, along his forearm and into his shoulder where it petered out. Now that he wasn’t waiting for it to kill him, he could take the time to actually feel it. Where Loki’s skin was warm, the strange sensation was cool. It pulsed gently over his hand and wrist in distinct tingling waves before it softened out to a perpetual vibration-like buzz by the time it reached his elbow. The only thing Tony could even begin to compare it to was the sensation of brushing fingers over the static on glass television screens. If that static was somehow cold and continuous, and flared at every nerve in his skin. It was…interesting to say the least. 

Loki’s eyes ticked to where their hands were touching. “I wouldn’t know,” he answered, sounding a little distracted. 

“Magic?” Tony asked, hoping not to bring attention to the fact he wasn’t moving his hand away. And actually had no intention of doing so. 

“It’s a form of,” Loki replied then paused and not so subtly pressed his fingers against Tony’s. Even that slight movement shifted the sensation’s intensity and Tony inhaled.  At the sound, Loki’s gaze ticked back to Tony’s, a new glint in them, “If it is unpleasant, I can stop.”  

“No,” Tony said, maybe a little too quickly get away with it, “No, it’s not unpleasant...”  

“And this?” Loki tilted his head slightly as though an idea had come to him. Tony found himself unable to look away as Loki’s eyes ticked between Tony’s, then down to his lips. In a slow, deliberate motion, Loki moved his outstretched hand from Tony’s and brushed it gently across the line of Tony’s jaw. The tingling sensation pulsed out from his touch, across his cheek and down his neck. The hairs on his neck stood on end and he felt the muscles in his shoulders tense gently without his permission. Loki regarded the reaction with interest. 

Tony released a shuddering exhale and swallowed, “No…that’s not unpleasant either.” 

A half-smile pulled at Loki's lips as he stood over Tony, one hand resting against the side of his neck, emanating that distracting tingling, making any sort of sense-based decision making exceedingly difficult, “Do I make you nervous, Stark?”  

“Nervous?” Tony scoffed a little, despite doing his best to ignore the sensation of his check brushing against Loki's fingers that only made the sensation down his neck that bit stronger, “What’s there to be nervous about a six foot something alien that can summon fifty pound shards of rock out of thing air and can apparently make himself bullet proof at will?”  

The answer pulled the half-smile into a full grin that Tony couldn't look away from, “Nothing that a man such as yourself can’t handle.”  

“You wanna test that theory?”  

The kiss that answered was gentle, hesitant, ready to back off at a moment’s notice, but the wave of sensation that practically crackled over Tony's skin as their lips met immediately eliminated that idea. He leant into it and that was enough of a signal for Loki to close the final inches between them, his free hand flowing around to the small of Tony’s back, slipping into between his top and pants to the strip of bare skin. Tony arched as this mix of physics and magic did something inexplicable to his spine and he pressed himself into Loki’s chest.  His tongue parted Loki’s lips and was eagerly met in kind. Loki tightened his arm around Tony’s waist with an easy force that was indication of the kind of strength that could probably lift him in one hand if he wanted to. Tony’s hand glided under Loki’s loose jacket to and up his back, relishing the feeling of lean muscle under the thin cotton shirt, flexing and relaxing with their subtle movements. That static enveloped him head to toe in cool, pulsing waves, making any form of logical thought completely impossible. He was lost in the sensation for several, euphoric seconds before Loki pulled away and gave a breathless grin, eyes still closed. 

 “You were right,” his eyes parted slightly to regard Tony, half-lidded, “I have not met anyone quite like you, Stark.” 

“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet,” Tony took a step towards the workshop door, gently pulling out of Loki’s grip. Loki let him go, but his eyes remained fixed on him. As he approached it, the workshop door hissed and slid open. “Why don’t I show you round the upstairs of the house?”  

That incredible grin emerged once again and Loki followed. 


	3. Chapter 3

Of course, Tony hadn’t exactly expecting the dark grey lines creeping over his chest to be a good thing, but untreatable palladium toxicity was a bit of a kick in the teeth.  

He’d survived kidnap and torture, tried to make amends by deconstructing his weapons development and personally made global trips to destroy the ones that still existed. He’d even started this whole superhero thing to actually try and do some good, but, apparently, there wasn’t enough good karma in the world for him to escape a fate he probably deserved.  

Tony slumped back in the chair at his desk and regarded the holographic copies of the doctor’s scans.  

What was he supposed to do now? Three months wasn’t exactly a lifetime. Barely enough to try and sort out Stark Industries, let alone everything else. That had barely survived the devolution of its weapons manufacturing and the death of Obidiah, how could it cope with the ‘sudden’ death of its CEO? How could Happy? And Pepper? Did he have a will? Maybe, but who was in it? ...that would need double-checking. He definitely had life insurance. He remembered that very difficult discussion, given his new hobby.  

Pepper would know what to do. She would have plans A though D ready by the time they’d have left the doctor’s office, the rest of the alphabet not far behind. But Tony couldn’t bring himself to tell her. Or anyone for that matter. What difference would it make? Death was death, no matter how prepared you were for its arrival.  

He eyed the glass of dark green liquid in his hand. It hadn’t exactly been a doctor recommended treatment but given chlorophyll’s ability to bind and negate heavy metals, it might well buy him some time to ‘get his estate in order’ as the saying went. Shame it tasted like dirt.  

“Stark?”  

Tony flinched as the sudden voice cut through the otherwise silent room, sending chlorophyll across his hand, “Jesus!” 

The frequency of Loki’s visits had gotten to the point where they’d stopped making him jump, though the acclimation process had cost Tony a fair amount of experimental technology ruined by sudden reactive movements. The two of them had spent a bit of time trying to come up with some kind of wormhole doorbell system, but that had proved fruitless, so Tony had just had to get used to it. The guy wasn’t exactly a chore to have around. At worst, if he arrived to find Tony busy, or absent, he’d do what he did the first time he had found himself here. Find a book and settle in, an activity that continued even after Tony had programmed him an exit code for the workshop that meant he was no longer trapped if Tony wasn’t there. When Tony wasn’t busy, well, there was certainly worse company that he could keep.  

However, the news of imminent death didn’t exactly put him in the mood for guests, no matter who they were.  

Tony exhaled slowly, set the desk on his chair and flicked the water from his hand, “What the hell are you doing here?” he snapped, turning to find Loki already walking slowly towards him.  

At hearing the tone of his words, Loki stopped and narrowed his eyes slightly in question and Tony realized it was probably the first time he’d gotten irritated with him.  

Tony sighed and calmed himself a little bit. This wasn’t his fault. “Look, sorry, now just...isn’t a great time.” 

“I can see that,” Loki said hesitantly, running his eyes over Tony, then up to the holograms that Tony hadn’t had time to dissipate, “Is everything all right?” 

“Yeah, no, everything’s peachy,” Tony replied quickly, standing up in an attempt to block Loki’s view of the holograms. But Loki had already clocked them and was advancing, inspecting them with scrutiny, “I just like to have some privacy every now and then,” Tony continued talking to try and distract him, but Loki was fixated, moving around Tony to stand close and peer at them until the realization blossomed over his face.  

“You’re dying...” Loki said quietly, looking back to Tony. His expression was remarkably neutral given the circumstances.  

Tony held his breath and for a moment considered denying it but it hadn’t been a question. Loki was smart enough to know what was going on. He exhaled, “Ok, fine, yes I’m dying, big whoop.” He snatched his chlorophyll from the table and readied himself for the influx of pointless worrying.  

But Loki’s neutral expression didn’t shift. He held Tony’s gaze for a moment then looked back to the holograms, idly lifting a finger and tracing it along one of the recreated palladium lines hanging in the air, “A pity...it is unlikely that the next owner of this room will be quite so receptive to my presence.” 

Tony blinked in surprise, “Hang on. I tell you I’m dying, like literally dying and you’re worried about your reading nook? Flattering.” 

Loki turned to him, his expression serious, “Well, in my experience, a quiet, comfortable building can last centuries while a human rarely survives more than one. It would be a shame to lose the former because of the latter.” 

Tony still wasn’t sure whether he had believed him when he’d said he was well over a thousand years old, but at this point he had no reason not to. He scowled, caught somewhere between offended by the offhand remark or comforted by Loki’s lack of reaction. 

“Does that irritate you?” Loki continued, his lips quirked up into that half-smile that was often the signal that whatever private joke Loki had been playing, he was deigning to let others in on it, and Tony realized he was just very obviously trying to playfully goad him. “Would you rather my pity be directed at you? I suspect that if that is what you wanted you would have told me your news the moment I asked.” 

“Don’t psychoanalyze me, Freud,” Tony bit back. Any other time, he didn’t mind Loki’s teasing, and was very happy to give as good as he got. But today was not a good day for anything. “I’ve just been told I’m dying, I’m not exactly in my right mind.” 

“Hm,” Loki had returned his attention to Tony’s diagnosis, not appearing to be grasping the gravity of the situation, “How long do you have to fix it?” 

“It can't be fixed,” Tony stated, flatly, “That’s pretty much the definition of dying.”  

“You know that do you?” Loki sounded genuinely bemused as he asked. Tony’s scowl deepened. “Forgive me, from what you’ve told me about your heart, you are the only one who has had one, and therefore could only be the first to experience its side effects. How could you know they are irreversible?” 

“You’re not from round here,” Tony said, very much not in the mood for baseless optimism. Did Loki just not understand the concept of death? “How about I explain what I’m dealing with and then you can decide whether you’re still on Team Sunshine,” he stepped up to his desk and plucked one of the unused palladium fuel blocks from the box they were kept in and showed it to Loki, “You see this? This is what fuels my heart as you call it. Without this, the heart goes out and those,” he pointed to the pieces of shrapnel that could be seen in one of the scans. As he spoke, the weight of his reality began to crush that little deeper and he could feel anger rising. “Those continue their determined path through my chest, killing me in a few days. But the ‘side-effect’ of stopping my death as you so casually put it, is flooding my body with a toxic isotope of palladium. Which apparently will kill me in three months, give or take. So those are my options. Both of which are ultimately death.” 

Loki eyed the fuel block, “If it is so damaging, why not use something else?”  

The question was asked so nonchalantly, so easily, so unassumingly, and Tony couldn’t help but stare at Loki incredulously. He didn’t understand at all. “Something else? Don’t you think I’ve tried ‘something else’,” Tony snapped with a force that made Loki’s irritatingly neutral expression crack slightly. “This is the only element on Earth that could possibly produce the level of sustained energy needed to fuel this! If there was any other option, you really think I’d choose the one that’s killing me?!” 

He saw a muscle in Loki’s jaw tense, the only note of emotion in his otherwise unreadble face, and it was not a good one, “No, as I have said once before, you are one of the most intelligent beings I have had the pleasure of knowing and so I thought you would have the awareness to know that Earth is not your limit anymore, if you only asked for it. But clearly you would prefer to wallow in self-generated pity that you claim not to want from those who care for you.” Loki paused and Tony found himself a little lost for a response. Loki looked him up and down, “Clearly I was mistaken. I’m sorry to have intruded so thoughtlessly.”  

With that, Loki stepped past him, heading for the door to the workshop.  

“God dammit...” Tony’s shoulders slumped and the pressure of his anger rushed from him in response to Loki’s statement. He rubbed his eyes and turned after Loki, “Wait!” 

Loki stopped at the door and looked back to him, expectantly.  

Tony hesitated, trying to find the words. “...I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you, I...” he exhaled, and swallowed, “I guess mortality isn’t something you guys have to face very often, but this is my third time in as many months and honestly, I thought it would get easier. Maybe even liberating, kind of a balls to wall, who cares what I do I’m dying anyway kind of vibe but...” 

Loki remained silent, patiently waiting for Tony to pull together his words into some form of coherent sentence.  

Tony licked his lips and the admission tumbled from his lips without his permission. “I don’t want to die. So, if you’ve got any bright ideas, magic spells, anymore mystery rocks you’re keeping up your sleeves, then I’m all ears.” 

The silence that followed felt infinitely longer than the few seconds it was in reality. The brief signs of some internal thought process flickered across Loki’s face before he looked back to the exit for a second then sighed, “Forgive me, Anthony, you’re right.” It was not a common phrase for Loki to utter, and he seemed to struggle with the concept but Tony didn’t interrupt, “I suppose I take longevity for granted, as I suspect most of my kin do. I should not have spoken harshly, this can’t be easy for you.” 

Tony lowered his gaze as the open expression of emotions was starting to make him uncomfortable, “Yeah well, you can make it up to me by curing me with space rocks or whatever.” 

Some of the tension in the atmosphere between them dissipated a little as Loki smirked, coming away from the exit finally, “I’ll need to know how your heart works if I’m to help you,” he said gently, “I know it is not a subject you’ve been keen to discuss previously but I fear that there may not be any choice. Given the time I can spend travelling will be reduced in the coming months, I would be reluctant to waste it not knowing what I am looking for.” 

“Reduced? How come?” Tony asked, for once, thankful to be able to move the conversation away from himself.  

“Well, my father has determined that it is time for my brother to ascend the throne,” Loki replied, the distaste in his words not very well hidden.  

“And you don’t think he should?” 

Loki chuckled a little, “As much as I love my brother, he is prideful and quick to anger. Neither of which I consider to be good qualities in a ruler.” 

Tony rose an eyebrow, pointedly.  

“At least, I am self-aware enough to know I have both of those traits,” Loki retorted the unsaid comment then shrugged a little, “But my opinion is of no consequence. The preparations for his ascension are beginning and sadly it is an admittedly rare time in which my duties as a prince outweigh the freedom it otherwise affords me. But I will do all I can to find your solution.”  

Tony nodded, his lips pressed into a thin line, “Thanks.” 

“Of course,” Loki answered then considered him for a moment, “And if it was not obvious, I do not come here for the building.” 

“Alright, you’ve already promised to go on a quest to find ‘what my heart needs’ let’s not get too romantic, it’ll kill the nice bleak vibe we’re cultivating,” Tony wafted his hand in the air, but he had little to no control over the soft smile on his face. Instead, he turned back to his desk and began to move the holograms out into the space between them, “How about I give you a lesson in arc reactors, sub-atomic chemistry and human molecular biology instead, that ought to bring us back to the appropriate point.” 

Loki tilted his head and stepped a little closer, watching Tony’s hands as they moved through the practiced motions in the computerized sign language he’d created specifically for Jarvis, “If I didn’t know better, then I’d say you were conjuring.” 

“I’m engineering,” Tony replied, distractedly, watching the sets of holograms appear and modify themselves in the air, “It’s better than your magic tricks. Anyone can do it. Now take a seat, time to go to school.” 

***** 

***** 

“Look, Tony, I want to be on your side here, really I do, but at the end of the day the government wants it and people who get in the way of what the government wants typically don’t come out of it very well.” 

Tony huffed. Rhodey was speaking in that slow, deliberate manner that he had the habit of using when he was getting irritated with Tony’s stubbornness. As if being spoken to like a child was going make him any more amenable to literally giving up his suit to the US military just to soothe the egos damaged by having a lowly civilian outdo them in firepower. A blow that was made all the worse now that Tony had the audacity to stop them using that firepower whenever and however they wanted.  

“I know you’re still there, Tony,” Rhodey continued, his voice playing omni-presently through Jarvis’s speakers around his workshop, “This isn’t a problem that you can ignore and hope it goes away. They’re planning to take you to court over it.” 

“Oh yeah? How much of my taxes are going towards that?” Tony asked. He was sat at his semi-circular desk, a few holograms hovering in the air where they’d been left when Tony’s otherwise productive day had been interrupted by this phone call. He scratched absently at his chest and reached out for the half-empty bottle of chlorophyll water.  

“This is serious!” Rhodey insisted.  

Tony slurped loudly from the bottle.  

“Sir, Alien Invasion sensors have been activated,” Jarvis spoke through the speakers.  

Tony rose his eyebrows and spun his chair to face the kitchen.  

“Alien invasion?” Rhodey repeated questioningly, “Tony what is going on?” 

“I gotta go, I’m expecting company,” Tony replaced the bottle on the desk and stood from his chair, “Tell the general I’ll see him in court.” 

With that, the call was dropped.  

The array of sensors that Tony had set up in the kitchen area were beginning to glow light green.  

Despite his royal duties apparently becoming increasingly pressured, Loki had fulfilled his promise to a surprising extent.  Though none of the metals, ores, jellies, gases, or any other form of element had served the purpose Tony needed, they had certainly put his Iron Man suit a step and half above the rest of the global technologies. But ‘alien technology’ wasn’t going to fly as an explanation as to why Tony was no confident nobody else would be able to replicate his suit.  

The ‘Ding Dong’ array had come into being following a serious amount of experimental engineering with some bits Loki had brought and Tony still considered it to be in the trial and error phase of testing. It was based on an odd liquid that seemed to react to the movement of space-time, but since he had no way of calibrating it, the sensors he’d developed had a habit of throwing up false alarms, picking up anything from Loki to the stray neutrons that might fall through the weak fabric of reality in his kitchen.  

Tony watched the array’s glow brighten to illuminate the kitchen. He pulled open the desk drawer and picked up the bb handgun he’d bought a couple of days ago as part of his ongoing experiment into magical forcefields. A side project to distract himself from the increasingly fruitless search for a solution to the Palladium Problem. As part of that side-project, he had drawn three conclusions: 

  1. Magical forcefields did actually exist
  2. Tests showed that they didn’t deflect objects that were thrown at human strength. These objects included tennis balls, stuffed toys, small rocks, ceramic mugs, screw drivers, discarded electronic equipment, and notebooks, among other things
  3. Tests showed tennis balls thrown by a mechanical suit deflected with no loss of force.



It had been a couple of days since Loki’s last visit and in the time since, Tony had developed a new hypothesis which was that the field had some kind of non-Newtonian property that meant it only actually activated when presented with something that above a certain force threshold. Loki had told him it was only a basic shield so it would probably only react if presented with something that Loki perceived as a threat. Anything thrown by Tony did not fall into that category apparently, unless he was wearing the Iron Man suit. Though Tony suspected that Loki was consciously enhancing the shield as soon as the Iron Man suit was donned, a fact that Tony took as a compliment. The new test was to determine whether the base shield could react without Loki being conscious of the threat.  

Loki stepped into existence without a sound and barely had time to glance around the room before Tony raised the bb gun and shot a pellet at the upper right of his chest. Loki flinched with the apparent impact, but that familiar blue light rippled out from the impact site as it did when the forcefield came into effect.  

“You are just perpetually bulletproof huh?” Tony said, lowering the pistol.  

Loki looked from his chest to Tony, disbelieving, “Did you just try to shoot me?”  

Tony turned to put the bb gun back on the desk behind him, “Well, I told you I wanted to test out your ‘magic’, seems lik- Woah!” Tony caught Loki’s movement out the corner of his eye and dropped to the ground instinctively.  There was sudden, crackling hiss of broken electronics somewhere over his head, shortly followed by a crash as something hit the floor behind his desk. Gingerly, Tony stood and leant over the desk to see the source. One of his computer monitors now lay on the floor on the other side of the desk sparking around two short, black knives that protruded from it. Tony looked back to Loki with a scowl, “Where did they come from? Did you literally pull those out of your ass?” 

Loki silently flicked his wrists and a knife sprouted in each of his hands.  

“Oh good, there’s more,” Tony sighed then yelped and dropped again as Loki swung both of them at him in one fluid motion. They missed and went sailing over the desk. Without the monitor to stop them this time, they lodged with a metallic ringing into the Iron Man suit stood out on its podium. When Tony lifted his head to inspect the damage, he noted that one was a stuck in at its hip, the other a couple of inches deep into the neck joint. Tony swallowed and looked back to Loki who had folded his arms across his chest, “Chill out, Gambit. It was a bb gun, probably couldn’t even break my skin, let alone yours. No need to make me a pin cushion.” 

Loki simply raised his eyebrow, though now that Tony was a little more tuned into him, he could tell that the guy wasn’t actually angry. He was just amusing himself in his own, unique way.  

Tony stood up slowly and went around to the pull the knives from the Iron Man suit, “What’s with the knives? You spend hours ranting about how us mortals are armed with, what was it? Over-engineering sling shots? And you try to kill me a knife?! A bit hypocritical don’t you think?” 

“If I wanted to kill you, then you would be dead,” Loki replied with a confidence that had Tony believing him, “I just wanted to put your armour to the test, in the same way you seem to want to do to mine. Be glad the fault was pinpointed now, and not while you were wearing it.” 

It took a little bit of wiggling to get the knife stuck in the neck free, “Point taken.” 

“Should I now expect to be faced with weapons if ever increasing power when I visit?” Loki asked, “Or is your curiosity finally sated?” 

When Tony turned back, the two knives in hand, Loki had crossed to the desk where he was turning the bb gun over in his hands, “Well, that depends how many more knives you’ve got hidden away in your little pocket dimension. Though I do only have so many desktops left.” 

Loki gave a smile and replaced the gun, his interest in it lost. Instead, he picked up Tony’s water bottle and the smile faded as he looked to him, “How is it?” 

Tony scratched at his chest reactively, taking his time returning to the desk, laying the knives on it and taking the bottle from Loki’s grasp, “No different.” 

Without asking, Loki reached up and hooked a finger over the neckline of Tony’s top, careful not to touch his skin as he pulled it down slightly to reveal the gnarled, dark grey lines sprawled out from behind the reactor. He sighed quietly as he saw it, his eyebrows arching up a little in soft sadness, “Did none of the last ores work?” 

Tony exhaled and shook his head, “Sadly, the problem with extra-terrestrial materials is they don’t always work very well with the terrestrial ones.” 

Loki let go of his shirt and regarded him, “I’m sorry...” 

Tony shrugged and wafted hand, “Don’t be. You’ve actually had made these last couple of months much more bearable that I could have imagined.” 

Loki smiled but the lines knit between his eyebrows remained. 

“How’s your brother’s thingy coming along?” Tony asked, keen to change the subject of his imminent demise, “That’s got to be soon.” 

“It is,” Loki sighed, “That is actually why I came today. I can’t stay and I’m afraid likely won’t be able to return until after the celebrations are completed.” 

Tony frowned as the prospect of suddenly not having Loki around for what might well be his final time on Earth struck an unexpectedly painful nerve, “How long will that be?” 

“A week perhaps?” Loki didn’t sound too sure of his answer, reading Tony’s concern, “Though if you think I should return before then, then just say.” 

He didn’t have to say it explicitly for Tony to understand what he was asking. He pulled his shoulders back and pretended to think. “I reckon I've got at a week in me,” Tony said with a confidence that he did not feel. In reality, he had no idea, no one did. But the worrying thing was the gentle ache, and perpetual tiredness that had begun to settle across his body.  

“Then I will spare you a long farewell,” Loki smiled, though Tony couldn’t tell whether he had believed him or the guy was just as averse to the concept of emotional goodbyes as he was. Before he had come to his conclusion, Loki had turned for the door, “I shall see you again soon, Anthony!” he called over his shoulder as he went.  

“You’d better!” Tony called after him, watching as Loki entered his personal code, and then climbed the stairs from the workshop in a few easy strides.  

Once he was out of sight, Tony’s smile faded. He scratched absently at the dark marks on his collarbone and downed the remaining chlorophyll water, acutely aware that that could be the last they saw of each other. If Tony had any say, it wouldn’t be. He’d use this week to find his cure, fend off the government sniffing around his suit and continue to be an all-round good guy until his reluctant test subject returned from his week of ‘celebrations’ to nurse hangover that would probably kill a mere mortal. Happily ever after.  

But now that all known elements across the nine realms had been tested and found wanting? Well, happily ever after seemed pretty unlikely. 

 


	4. Chapter 4

The term wild ride had all but lost its meaning after the last several months of Tony’s life, and the more recent weeks had been no different. He’d defended the Iron Man suit from being seized by congress, retired from Stark Industries, passing on the new legacy to Pepper, he’d celebrated his birthday as though it was his last day on Earth (because at the time it hadn’t been far off), met a quadruple agent, discovered and created a new element in his basement, saved his own life and the lives of hundreds of people at the Stark Expo, and, most importantly, thoroughly humiliated the only person who had the balls to consider himself Tony's ‘rival’. All while living out what he had once thought was going to be the last week of his life.  

After the dust had settled from all that, he’d set himself up as a consultant and advisor to Pepper in her new role, and ‘not an Avenger’ to Nick Fury, and finally been able to shift his focus to an important question that had been bugging him for a while now. Where the hell had Loki gotten to?  

In fairness, when the guy had failed to show when he said he would, Tony barely questioned it. Just someone jumping ship on a dying acquaintance. Loki was centuries old, what did he care if one mortal ‘died’? He was probably too busy partying it up at his brother's coronation to even remember.  

It was only when Tony started digging around into what had been going on in New Mexico that was so important it dragged Coulson from his babysitting duty, did he start to reconsider.  

The sudden appearance of a number of people brandishing medieval style weaponry and armaments, facing off against a piece of technology that simply didn’t exist on Earth was enough for Tony to make the link. Those people had been from Asgard, the big blond one fit the description of Loki's brother pretty closely. Which meant that something was going down on Asgard, and Loki was probably involved. The realization was bittersweet. On the one hand, at least Tony could take solace in the assumption that Loki hadn’t not returned on purpose. But on the other, it could mean that Loki was in some sort of trouble and didn’t have access to his usual means of escape.  

He had no way of finding out what was happening on Asgard. The Asgardians were gone as fast as they arrived, and through a much more obvious means than Loki had used. The Bifrost, presumably. Tony’s current working theory was that some glitch in space time had collapsed the wormhole that Loki had been using to get to his workshop which was why he couldn’t get through. Since the guy seemed to have little to no interest in ‘Midgard’ outside of Tony's presence, it was  unlikely that he’d taken the time to learn enough of its geography to find his way back to California if he popped up elsewhere on Earth. So, in answer to this, Tony started a secret side project and developed a specific set of sensors and began a country wide search for any hint of more wormholes. If he could find them and tag them somehow, maybe he could pick up Loki's trail if he ever came back.  

The largest and most obvious of these new wormholes had been found directly over the centre of New York City, hovering about 1000 feet in the air. When he’d approached Pepper with the proposal to build a new research complex in the city, he’d neglected to mention the reason it had to be at least 93 storeys and Pepper likely just chalked it up to his ego. Stark Tower was not the only project he’d implemented to try and find Loki but it was certainly the biggest. 

But it turned out his whole endeavor had been entirely unnecessary.  

Loki had apparently found his way back to Earth through means of what Nick Fury called the Tesseract, something that Tony had been trying to get his hands on since Fury had accidentally let its existence slip. Given that he was only aware of Loki’s return because Coulson had come to recruit him into the Avengers, Tony had decided it was for the best to pretend that Loki and his existence was brand new information. SHIELD probably wouldn’t react too well to finding out that Tony had, quite literally, been sleeping with the enemy, even if Loki hadn’t been an enemy at the time.  

The moment he found out where Loki had been spotted out in the open, he’d suited up and pushed it to its limits to get to the location. Maybe if he could get there before anyone else, he could sneak in a few questions. Things like: where the hell have you been? What did you get me for my birthday? And why the fuck are you murdering people all of a sudden?  

But apparently he had been last on the guest list for the Avengers Initiative because by the time he got there, Loki was already clashing playfully with Captain America himself. And, worryingly, it was starting to look like the god was getting bored of playing around. 

Tony made sure his entrance was loud and sudden. The last time they’d seen each other, Tony had been weeks from death so he hoped maybe the surprise of seeing him alive and kicking would be enough to shock the fight out of Loki without having to use too much force. The multiple visits over their brief time together had allowed Tony to work out exactly what it would take to hurt the guy with doing him lasting damage. His shots hit center mass with enough force to throw Loki backwards but it didn’t hold him down long. He scrambled to sit up, but as soon as his sights handed on Tony hovering in the air over him, a brief look of confused surprise flickered over his face and he froze in place. 

“Your move Reindeer Games.” 

The sound of his voice apparently clicked something into place in Loki’s mind. The surprise shifted to shock for a second before a neutral mask was pulled down over his features, his jaw set in place and he lowered himself back to the ground, eyes down. The glamour of armor  shimmered and dissipated, and he raised his hands in a peace gesture, but Tony could see that slight blue shield rippling over his body.  

Behind his visor, Tony narrowed his eyes. He’d gone over a few possible scenarios in his mind on his way here and meek silence wasn't even in the top 5. Something was up. 

With the help of Steve, Tony had escorted Loki into the jumpjet and began to put him in restraints while Steve went to speak to Natasha Romanov sat in the pilot’s seat. It was only when Steve had moved away that Tony moved position so his back was to both of them. 

“You missed my birthday,” Tony said as quietly as he could. It was an idle comment. A probe for a reaction more than anything. A way gauging what was going on here. Something felt wrong. Loki felt wrong. Despite it only being a few weeks since they last saw each other, it felt as though Loki had aged. Tony new better than most, the best cure for a youthful, carefree demeanor was significant, sustained trauma.  

Loki glanced up at that and narrowed his eyes at Tony suspiciously. Tony held his gaze, fighting through the malice that dripped off it to find some hint of the old Loki underneath. After what felt like an age, Tony spotted it in the slight softening of his features, the minor uptick of one eyebrow that fought against the derisive mask. “It’s good to see you alive, Anthony,” his voice was as soft as Tony’s had been, thankfully cottoning on to Tony’s desire to keep their relationship secret. Tony took it as a win. If Loki was completely lost to whatever he was planning, he would have no qualms in using that information in less than friendly ways. Loki tugged at the restraints a little, “though I wish it was under different circumstances.”  

Tony sighed and tightened the strap on Loki’s wrist, “Yeah, you and me both,” he offered a thin smile and stood turning back to where Steve was leaning against the arch to the cockpit. 

Tony had kept his eyes fixed on the Loki for as much of the journey as he could while still making idle small talk with Captain America himself. Loki never looked back to him, keeping his gaze fixed on the ground at his feet, features set in quiet contemplation. That is until they’d passed into a lightning storm.  

The thunder boomed overhead and Loki snapped his eyes to the ceiling as what looked like genuine trepidation passed over his face.  

“What’s the matter?” Steve said, drawing Loki’s attention, “Scared of a little lightning?” 

“I’m not overly fond of what follows,” he replied calmly. His eyes ticked sideways to Tony for only a moment, sending an extra, silent message.   

What had Loki once called his brother?  

Something hit the roof of the jet, hard, and its heavy footsteps started to move towards the rear, to the cargo. The panel on the inside of the door sparked and the electrics began to open it. The man that Tony had seen on the news not so long ago strode into the jet as if he owned it, dressed in almost a full suit of armor and wielding that same hammer that had once been the subject of a full SHIELD investigation. Thor didn’t even look their way, maybe even oblivious to their presence he was so focused on Loki, who shrank away from him, trying to disappear into the seat behind him. Without missing a beat or saying a word, Thor reached down to wrap a hand round Loki’s neck and plucked him from his restraints like they were made of cobwebs. And then, as Loki had rightly warned him about, flew away.  

Tony started towards the door without hesitation. If anyone was to ask, naturally it was because Loki had to answer for what he’d done in Germany and there was clearly some larger plan afoot that they wouldn’t be able to stop if they didn’t know what it was. It was, obviously, nothing to do with the look of veiled panic on Loki’s face as Thor dragged him from the jet by the throat. Not that at all. 

The fight that followed probably would have gone a lot worse if Tony hadn’t had at least some experience in what can and cannot hurt an Asgardian. After Captain America had joined the fray, Tony had begun considering whether this constituted enough of a distraction for him to wander off to see what Thor had done with Loki.  The sudden meeting of an unstoppable hammer and an immovable shield that levelled the forest had quickly ended that consideration. Tony would just have to bide his time. 

His time came not long after they’d brought Loki back to the Helicarrier and accompanied him to the holding cell. After a short discussion, he’d convinced Steve to take Thor to Fury to explain what happened while Tony went to de-suit and he’d meet them later. It allowed him to sneak back into the holding cell room on his own while everyone else was busy with the debrief upstairs. Jarvis was working on Fury’s systems from the various bugs he’d planted around the ship, it wasn’t hard to loop the camera footage for a few minutes, they’d never know he’d been here.  

Loki was pacing slowly around the circumference of the cell when Tony returned, his gaze ticking from point to point in such a way that teetered dangerously between observant and wild. Despite the thick glass that separated them, Tony felt a note of fear nestle in his chest. Loki was a god, and in Tony’s opinion, a god with a questionable mindset who was now trapped. It didn’t make for a very predictable scenario. 

Loki paused in his pacing at the sound if his footsteps and turned to face him, a slow smile spread over his face. It was shallow and false. “Anthony.” 

 Tony walked up to the cell in measured steps, arms behind his back, “You grew your hair out. Sufficiently ostentatious for your new world domination hobby. Was it the hair first or the hobby?” 

Loki chuckled a little and took a step closer to the glass, running his eyes up and down him, “You found a solution to your heart. Tell me.” 

Tony winced, “I’d love to. You know I would. Just pour out a couple of whiskeys and talk about me for an evening but given your questionable motives for being here, I don’t think we can really just go back to old times. Not unless you tell me what’s going on.” 

“Old times...” Loki repeated the words and that shallow smile lost a little of its malice for a moment. But then he shook his head slightly as if to clear it and pulled his shoulders back and sneered, “Is that why you came? You think you can find your answers here. Use our relationship to gain the advantage in some vain attempt to protect your pitiful species from the inevitable.” 

Tony frowned in surprise at the sudden spite in Loki’s words and he held his hands up in front of him, “Woah that was uncalled for. We managed to catch up to you pretty quickly, didn’t we? Cant be that pitiful.” 

“ _You_  caught me,” Loki corrected and roses an eyebrow, “We both know that you are not like them. Had you not arrived when you did I don’t know that your patriotic friend would have survived much longer. Even the mighty Thor struggled to hold his own from what I saw. You have improved your suit since we last met. Perhaps I should have determined its secrets earlier.” 

“I actually did wonder about that,” Tony wagged a finger at him, “If this had been your grand master plan this whole time, then why didn’t you? You found it boring. In fact, you found everything boring, so this whole thing doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.”  

Loki narrowed his eyes slightly in the gesture that Tony had learned to be a tick in his thought process. A tell that meant that Loki had no answer to what was being asked, and was scrambling to find one. The pause was less than a second but it was long enough. “It was miscalculation on my part, I underestimated your evolution. I will not be making the same mistake again.” 

“See, I don’t think it was a mistake in the first place,” Tony replied, finding the confidence in Loki's faltering to step up to the glass, “You’ve been wandering the universe for what? Centuries, let’s say, and granted I’m just a little blip on your radar but as far as I can tell you’ve had no interest in ruling anything. You’ve never mentioned it. Hell, you don’t really seem to spend enough time in any one place to rule it. But then you disappear for months, and come back armed with the mind control stick, hell bent on claiming Earth as your ‘kingdom’?” Tony shook his head, “Doesn’t add up.” 

Loki’s smile had faded and he was regarding Tony silently.  

Tony weighed his options then asked, “What happened to you?” 

A muscle tensed in Loki’s jaw, his features darkened, and he snapped, “You expect me to fill in the gaps in knowledge where no one cared to do so themselves.” 

“Is that what you think?” Tony frowned. 

The anger that threatened to take over faded into cautious confusion, “What?”  

Did he really think no one had looked for him? Tony’s frown deepened for a second then he wiped it his expression back to neutrality. “Well, at first when you didn’t come back, no offence but it was the least of my worries, given I had maybe a few more days to live. It was one hell of a birthday party, shame you missed it. But then long story short, I learned how not to die, and then the question became where the hell had you gone?” Tony pushed his hands into his pockets, “Do you know I found 142 wormholes across North America alone? No idea where they go or come from but hey, I figured if I could find them then so might you. It was better than nothing. Not that I’ve worked out what to do with them yet. I was actually getting close to letting Fury let me get at the Tesseract until you turned up and shot those chances out the window...” 

“You should not play with things you do not understand,” Loki spoke quietly having lost all hostility revealing that familiar voice Tony remembered from months ago. Except this one was sacred.  

“I mean, that is unfortunately the majority of my personality so...” 

“Listen to me, Anthony,” Loki suddenly stepped up to the glass and interrupted him with a commanding tone that left no room for Tony to argue. When he spoke again, he spoke quickly and quietly, as though worried that someone might be listening. “I will give this warning once and only to you. The powers that are in motion here are beyond anything you know, beyond anything  _I_ know. And it cannot be stopped, not by me, nor you, nor the power of all your friends combined. If you choose to fight this then your newfound life will be forfeit.” Loki shook his head, his gaze earnest, “I don’t want that, Anthony. You must run. Leave this planet, this realm if you can. Asgard perhaps, if Thor is amenable. If I could, I would teach you to navigate the corridors between the realms but I can’t.” 

“Why not?” Tony asked, not entirely sure why that was then question he asked but it seemed to amuse Loki nonetheless. 

Loki gave a small smile. A real smile, “Well physical contact would be required and I don’t think I can convince you open this cell.” 

“You’re not wrong there,” Tony muttered glancing off to the controls a little way off, still trying to process what Loki was saying, “You’re gonna have to do better than this Lokes. Powers beyond you? What does that mean?” 

The smile died as Loki shook his head and stepped back from the glass.  

Tony held his place and put one hand on the glass, “Look, I’m trying to help you out here. You’re saying that you can’t stop what is happening, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a part of it.”  

Fear passed over Loki’s face and he dropped his gaze. 

“At least tell us what we’re up against. The guys upstairs don’t exactly take kindly to being invaded, but if you help us stop it? Well, it might just get you some brownie points,” Tony sighed at Loki’s lack of response, “I hate to do this but you gotta know I can’t let you carry on with what you’re planning. If you keep trying or do anything to hurt more people, I can’t protect you from the others either.” 

“Protect me?” Loki chuckled but it was laced with sadness, “Are you still so bound to mortal naivety? I have seen the rise and fall of civilizations. I can wield power that you and your people can barely conceive. I fought battles, wars, across realms and I am telling you to run. I don’t need protection from you and your friends.” 

The concept clicked into place with frightening clarity, “Then what do you need protection from?” 

The question seemed to physically hit Loki. He swayed back a little and flicked his chin up to meet Tony’s gaze once more. There was a sudden shift in his posture and that shallow, false smile grew on his lips, “You have already had more from me than you deserve, Stark.” 

“You know, I’m still on your side,” Tony said, as he came to the conclusion that he had gotten to the end of the interrogation that Loki was willing to comply with, “I don’t know what you’ve been up to, or what’s happened to you, but you spent enough time trying to save my life that I owe you at least one. Obviously, that one doesn’t extend to letting you take over the Earth, but when you want out? Just say the word. I’ll do what I can to get you out.” 

Tony paused just long enough to see that grin twitch out of existence before turning and striding away, hoping the rest of the Avengers hadn’t missed him too much. 


	5. Chapter 5

“Why do you think he did it?”  

Steve looked up at Tony with idle curiosity from across the void where the Helicarrier’s brig cell had once been. He was leaning with one shoulder against a metal beam, arms crossed. After the two of them had saved the Helicarrier with little more than an over-complicated jump start, Captain America had done the noble thing and gone to check on the others, make sure everyone was alright following the attack that had freed Loki. Tony on the other hand had desuited and immediately had Jarvis go through the footage of what had happened everywhere else. To watch as Loki had played them all without even trying, scattering their most powerful players, Thor and Bruce, to the wind, and then promptly bowing out. Of course, he had tried to bring down the Helicarrier as he’d left, but it was not the massacre it could have been.  

“Did what?” Steve asked after considering Tony for a moment.  

“Let Coulson live,” Tony replied. He was stood at the edge of the gantry that had once been the entrance to the cell, but was now little more than a viewing platform to the land flying past below them. Not quite as fast as it had been a couple of hours ago, now that one of the engines had been blown out. 

“Well, he didn’t exactly treat him to dinner and show on his way out.” 

“He could’ve done anything,” Tony carried on talking through a thought train that he wasn’t about to let Steve derail until he’d heard the whole thing. He’d spent the whole fight trying to figure out why this was happening, running what Loki had said over and over in his mind. “It was just the two of them down here and Loki had the drop. He could have stabbed him, beat him, turned him against us, turned him into a freaking frog. All he did was knock him out and leave.” 

Steve shrugged, evidently not invested in this conundrum, “Probably just assumed that he’d die when the Helicarrier blew up and didn’t want to waste time.” 

“Maybe...”  

“You disagree?” 

How could he make this matter to Steve? Steve hadn’t known Loki for months. Hadn’t bickered with him over how much sugar an Asgardian could or could not have in a coffee before it wasn’t considered coffee anymore. Hadn’t learnt the names the stars he lived under. Hadn’t had him spend weeks scouring the Nine Realms to find a way to save his life. All Steve had was the attack in Germany and the attack on the Helicarrier. It wasn’t exactly a great first impression. “I’m just worried that we’re not seeing the bigger picture. There’s too many questions that don’t have any answers for this to be as simple as we think it is.” 

“Seems pretty simple to me, egotistical megalomaniac decides he wants more power and people die at his feet as he takes it,” Steve said matter-of-factly, “I’ve seen it before.” 

“Ok, well, let’s follow that thought to its logical conclusion. Seems like Loki wants to rule right? And it doesn’t seem to matter what it is at this point, Earth was probably just an easy target,” Tony said, talking quickly and concisely, doing the best he could to make sure that he was properly explaining his still developing thoughts. Steve nodded in agreement. "Which would imply he’s not ruling anywhere else currently. So where the hell did this army come from? And that scepter? What? He just found that thing floating through the empty void of space? I don’t think so. Thor hasn’t got a clue what it is and you said it was what? A Hydra weapon? I doubt Loki dropped by and it picked up from World War Two.” 

“What difference does it make?” Steve frowned a little skeptically, but the fact he was paying attention was more than Tony expected.  

“That thing was emitting colossal levels of energy.  And it’s not radiation, it’s not on the light spectrum. It’s brain waves. That mind-control power that Loki used on Barton isn’t just turned on and off, it’s happening all the time. Could you imagine what a white noise of brain waves, passive thoughts, might have on you?” The pieces were falling into place as he spoke. “You remember just before we were attacked? We didn’t even have to be touching it and suddenly, everything was off. Me and you nearly threw down and I honestly don’t even remember why.” 

“You were being a jackass, that’s why,” Steve input, helpfully.  

“I’ve been a jackass since the moment we met but it was only when we were stood near that scepter that you wanted to go mano a mano. You don’t seem the type to challenge people to fisticuffs at a mere disagreement,” Tony frowned and Steve shrugged. “If we’re at each other's throats after being stood near it for a couple of hours, what do you think it’d be like to be holding onto it constantly for days? Weeks maybe?” 

Steve was still frowning, but he came out of his lean and started to move around the edge of the room, thoughtful, “You’re thinking that he’s not the one controlling it.” 

Tony wafted a hand in the air, “Assuming he is would be pointless, nothing changes so it's a waste of energy. But assuming  _it’s_  controlling  _him_? Then that opens up the possibility there might be someone controlling Loki that not only considers the Discostick so inconsequential, they’ll hand it out to a scrawny run away with a god complex, but they’ve got a spare army to go along with it.”  

Steve took a quiet second to consider what he was saying as he came to a stop at the start of the gantry Tony was stood on, “That’s a pretty big leap to make Tony.” 

Tony shrugged a shoulder as he turned and started to walk slowly back down the gantry to where Steve was, “It could be, unless you start to think motive. Why would this mystery superpower give Loki an invasion force? What’re they getting out of it?” 

“You mean someone else wants the Earth and they’re using Loki as a scape goat?” Steve asked. 

“You and me, we know how wars are fought,” Tony said, “Does a single force, led by a single undercover operative, attacking from a single point of entry sound like it’s a recipe for a successful invasion?” 

“...Not especially,” Steve answered cautiously, looking as though he suspected some kind of trick question, “Depends on the size of the invading force, but usually there’d be multiple entry point to break up enemy forces, make them fight on multiple fronts. Weaken them. Having a single point of entry means that the whole defending force knows where you are and are focused on you.” 

“Exactly. Either Loki’s never seen 300 or he’s not leading an invasion,” Tony ignored the look of confusion that naturally came with the modern reference. “What if Loki’s bid for global domination is just a cover up something else.” 

“That doesn’t change what he’s done here, he’s killed people,” Steve said pointedly, “He’s killed a lot of people.” 

Tony pressed his lips together and stuffed his hands in his trouser pockets, holding Steve’s gaze, “So have I. So have you. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone on board without a body count. I’m not excusing what he’s done, but I’ve done crappier things than he has and I got a second chance. More to the point? If I’m right then we could avoid this whole space invaders scenario if we can show him he’s being tricked as much as Barton was.” 

Steve regarded him silently for a long uncomfortable moment, eyes stern before taking a deep breath, “You’re going to awful lengths to defend him.” 

“Every devil needs his advocate,” Tony replied as casually as he could manage but it was apparently not enough. 

“You’ve met him before, haven’t you?”  

The question didn’t leave any room for denial and at this point, if it helped Loki’s chances to have a character witness? He was willing to risk to disdain of the Avengers. Tony said nothing and looked away, letting his silence answer for him.  

But the anger that Tony expected didn’t arise. Instead Steve exhaled audibly, “Did Thor know?” 

“If he did, he didn’t say anything,” Tony answered, honestly, “Loki probably never told him, he’s not really the sharing sort.” 

“How long have you known him?” Steve asked with a benevolent curiosity.  

“A few months give or take,” Tony replied, trying to rid the bittersweet flash of emotion that came with the memory of their times in his workshop, “It’s a long story. The cliff notes are that he spent a lot of that time helping me save me own life. What this is?” he wafted a hand at the situation in general, “It’s not him.” 

“The reality is that it is him, Tony,” Steve said soberly, surprisingly gently, “Whether he’s being tricked or not, you know we can’t just let him bring an army to Earth.” 

“Yeah I know,” Tony said, looking back to him, “But could you give me a chance to talk him before you unleash all 50 shades of star-spangled fury? I might still be able to get him to call this whole thing off.” 

After a moment of deliberation, Steve nodded, “I’ll do what I can. But we need to find him first.” 

Tony inhaled, “Influence or no influence, Loki is scared. I’ve never seen him scared, but I’ve seen him trying to prove himself. He’s a full tilt diva. He wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience. He wants to be somewhere where people won’t be able to ignore him. Some monument reaching to the sky with his name plastered to the side-” Tony froze then scowled, “That son of a bitch.” 

****** 

Tony had suited up and gone on ahead, leaving Steve to explain the situation to the others. The extent to which he’d be revealing Tony’s ulterior motives, he didn’t know but it didn’t matter anymore. He had to get to Loki fast, faster than the lame Helicarrier would allow.  

His hunch had been right.  

When Tony came up to Stark Tower, Loki was stood out on the curved balcony that ran around the front of the penthouse. He was gazing out over the city, his expression was grim, but as Tony soared into visual range, he tilted his head curiously, a slight, unreadable smile on his face. The guy’s gaze was fixed on him, tracking him as Tony came in to land and paced the automatic desuiting platform, a slight predatory glint in his eye. It was almost enough to make Tony reconsider going suitless, but this talk was going to be difficult enough as it was without Loki thinking he was hiding behind his armor.   

Once into the penthouse, Tony made a beeline for his bar top in a move designed to portray relaxation, but really, a shot whiskey was exactly what he needed right now. Loki was walking in from the balcony door across the room.  

“I told you to run, Stark,” Loki said, sounding almost amused as he advanced a few steps in and came to a stop. 

“Exercise really isn’t my thing,” Tony quipped in response then flicked his gaze up, the open whiskey decanter in one hand, “Diet is much more important. You want a drink?” 

“You are almost out of time,” Loki ignored his question, speaking loudly, proudly now, “Soon, the Chitauri will be here and then there will be no escape. For you or your friends.” 

Tony frowned as he poured himself a large measure, “I actually wanted to clear a couple of things up about your Chimpchamps or whatever you call them. You sure you don’t want a drink?” he held up the decanter but Loki merely narrowed his eyes at it and so Tony shrugged, dropped the lid back into place and put it back, “Whatever suit yourself.” He picked up the glass and started to move around the bar, “You know you’re not going to win right? This war you’re trying to bring. This isn’t going go how you think it’s going to go.” 

Loki lifted his chin a little, smirking, “Hubris in the face of death is a noble trait, if a foolish one.”  

“Pot, kettle, Lokes,” Tony took a sip of the whiskey and studied Loki carefully. He was wearing a perpetual smirk on his face, victorious already and if Tony didn’t know him any better, the assessment would have stopped there. But taking just a second longer to just look, it wasn’t hard to tell that Loki was tense, shoulders pulled back artificially tightly, one hand gripping the scepter so hard his knuckles were white, and his familiar shield visibly shimmered over his body. He was scared. Tony smacked his lips and swallowed the burning liquid, “Let me ask you something. Let’s say you bring your army here, there’s a big battle, and me and the battle buds lose. Then what?” 

“Then I rule,” Loki replied nonchalantly, “As is my right.” 

“Ok yeah sure, but rule what?” Tony gestured out the window with his glass,  “New York City? The US? The Earth? What? Is that one army going to be enough for global domination?” 

A muscle in Loki’s jaw pressed against the skin of his cheek, “The forces I control are more than you could possibly bear, Stark.” 

“That’s not an answer, that’s PR jargon,” Tony told him, taking a step closer. Now he was only a a couple of yards away, Tony could feel the energy of his shields rolling off him in tingling waves. He’d never felt it so strongly or from so far away. In any other circumstance it would have been distracting but right now it just pulled into sharp focus how scared he was. How ready he was to fight. “Whoever told you that this force is insurmountable clearly doesn’t know us. They don’t know humanity. Not like you do. You know we’re a bunch of stubborn assholes who typically don’t take kindly to being ‘taken over’.” 

Loki's eyes narrowed slightly but he said nothing.  

Tony changed his tactics, “Who gave you this army?” Loki reacted a little at the question, shuffling in place but didn’t make any attempt to answer it. “Was the same person who gave you that scepter?” 

Loki twisted the scepter in his hand, and glanced down at it as though only just realizing it was there.  

Tony readied himself to watch for a reaction, “Is that who you’re scared of?” 

Loki’s eyes snapped back to Tony's. They had lost that façade of composure and in that look Tony saw his opportunity. 

“You’ve been had, Lokes,” he said, firmly, stepping closer, pressing through the waves of energy flowing off Loki's shield. Tony pointed at the scepter with his free hand, “That thing you’re holding is having as much of an effect on you as it did on Barton, on Selvig,” Loki didn’t break eye contact but his grip on the scepter tightened almost imperceptibly. “You weren’t sent here to earn yourself a crown. You were sent here to distract us while your ‘loyal forces’ do something else.” 

“You know not of what you speak, Stark,” Loki hissed viciously, that victorious smile long gone, “I have been sent here with glorious purpose and I will earn my throne through battle and blood as my ancestors won theirs.” 

Tony carried on, taking step a step closer and forcing his voice to remain calm, measured. He had to make sure that Loki was listening. That what he was saying was could be heard over the constant, whispering of that thing he was holding, “Listen to me. They’ve lied to you, Loki. They’ve lied to you and then some. I saw the footage of that day you arrived here,” he hesitated then said, “I know a torture victim when I see one.” 

“Silence!” Loki roared and swiped his free hand through the air before him. Tony could feel the sharp pulse of rage spike the shield and the force of it pressed him backwards a step.  

Fear spiked with it but Tony stayed the course, forcing himself through the field to stand closer, hoping that Loki could feel his fear as much as Tony could feel his. Hoping that it would break through, “C’mon Lokes, I know what this is. They’ve tricked you, twisted you, tortured you, given you a magic stick and told you you could have the Earth, but you can’t and people will die if you try to take it! Innocent people!” Tony insisted but Loki’s expression remained wild, angry. “Maybe your force comes and maybe it’s too much for us but that’s all on you. That can’t be what you want, you’re not a monster,” Tony had hoped he’d spoken as though it was a truth, a solid statement of fact. Not the poorly concealed plea that it felt like.  

A change flowed over Loki immediately. That wild anger flashed and twisted into dark amusement and he chuckled a little, then laughed and looked to the floor shaking his head. After a moment, he looked back to Tony, mouth pulled back into a half grin, “I have always been a monster, Stark.”  

Tony scowled, “What are you talking about?”  

“I suppose Thor did not tell you,” he was talking quietly and it was infinitely more terrifying than anything Tony had seen so far. Loki raised his free hand to show to Tony as gleaming green and gold light flowed over it from his elbow to the ends of his fingers, leaving a pale blue skin etched with lines of red in its wake. Loki inspected his arm as though looking for something, speaking absently, almost to himself and Tony could hear the venom in his words, “I am the runt spawn of a despised race, cast out to die in the cold for the crime of existence. And my savior? My so-called Father?” he grit his teeth and spat the words, that rage leaking into his voice, “He  _hoarded_  me for  _years_ , placated me with the empty promises of grandeur and kingship. I was squirreled away like some glass jewels in the hope he might make use of me one day. But when he decided I had no use?” he laughed again, there was a flash of that green gold light and his arm returned to its usual pale tones. He looked back to Tony, a grin on his face and sadness in his eyes. He shrugged, “Well, nobody cared to follow me into the void.” 

“That’s not true and you know it, asshole” Tony answered instantly with a force enough to twitch Loki’s expression. Tony pressed a finger into his own chest as he spoke, “I cared. I gave shit. I looked for you for weeks. This whole god damn tower was built to for you! To find you! But it turns out it was a waste of money because I’m still looking,” he gestured at Loki, “This isn’t you. This isn’t the Loki I know,” Tony shook his head and downed the rest of the drink. Thankfully, Loki didn’t make an attempt to interrupt, apparently too taken aback by what Tony had said to speak. “I’m the son of an arms dealer who has made millions developing new ways for people to kill each other. I was a monster. But I made a choice and so can you. You can make a choice, Lokes.” 

“Free will is a fantasy for children, Anthony,” Loki smiled that sad smile once more, “I made my choice the day I fell from the Bifrost but alas it was of no consequence. You’re right. This isn’t what I want. But the only  _choice_  I have left in this life is the tone of scream on my lips as I meet my end.” There was a glisten in his eye and a soft shake to his voice, “And if I fail here then I will have that taken from me too.” 

Tony clenched his jaw and shrugged taking a moment to swallow back the surge of emotion that came with Loki’s admission. His cry for help so obvious Tony was shocked and angry that no one else had heard it. “So that’s that it comes down to. Suicide by planetary defence force. That’s what you want?” 

“It doesn’t matter what I want,” Loki said with a resigned shake of his head.  

“Yes, it does Lokes,” Tony spoke firmly, recognizing when he was running out of time, advancing over the last few feet in slow careful steps, “What you want can change everything. You can still choose to stop this, choose to spit in the face of anyone who’s told you you’re a monster.” Tony reached across the little remaining space between them, his hand close to Loki’s. Loki’s gaze was fixed on it, apprehensive, but, thankfully, he didn’t move away. “Choose to help me. Right here, right now. Drop that scepter, tell me how to turn off the portal gun, and put a stop to whatever that asshole is planning. Make the choice, Lokes." 

Loki’s mouth had dropped open a little. Tony could see his mind working, speeding through some undisclosed thought process. His gaze flicked from the offered hand, up to Tony’s gaze, searching it for something. Tony held his gaze, but out of the corner of his eye he noticed Loki shifting the weight of the scepter in his hand, fidgeting, thinking. Eventually, Loki licked his lips and looked down at it. “Anthony...I-” 

A percussive boom cut through the air. Loki’s gaze shot to the ceiling as the building shook under their feet. 

“It’s too late,” Loki murmured. He sounded resigned, detached even and he began to retreat from Tony, watching him sadly as he went, “You should have run while you had the chance.” 

Tony exhaled. He had come so close. So god damn close. He swore under his breath and began moving towards the exit to the balcony, discarding the empty glass to one side as he went, “This isn’t over yet, Lokes,” he turned and started sprinting for the door, “Ok Jarvis I hope you got all those kinks sorted out. I’m gonna need a quick way down.”  

“Suit deployed sir, it will be with you momentarily,” Jarvis replied calmly. 

“Anthony?” he heard Loki say somewhere behind him as he burst through the door of the balcony and paused at its edge. “Anthony what are you doing?!” he called after him, and it was a little bit comforting to hear a note of confused panic in his voice. 

“Being a hero!” Tony called back, peering up at the dark circle growing like an infection across the sky over the Tower, then glancing down at the city below him. So, so far below him. He swallowed back the nerves and looked back to Loki standing in the door to the penthouse, “You should really try it some time.” 

“You can’t fight them, Anthony,” Loki insisted, “You will die!” 

“Yeah well, just another Tuesday afternoon then,” Tony flashed a smirk. He saw the first of his suit pieces burst through the wall at the back of the penthouse and called, “Heads up.” 

Loki’s forehead twitched into a brief frown before he glanced behind him in time to dodge the pieces as they streaked past him, reaching Tony and mantling, unfolding and connecting up to build themselves into the solid suit that Tony needed. Loki was becoming increasingly distressed as he watched the process, “Anthony, please. Just run. I cannot watch you do this.” 

“Then don’t,” Tony answered simply, and let the visor slam shut over his face, “Make your choice.” 

With that, Tony dived from the balcony. 


	6. Chapter 6

Loki would never have agreed to lead the assault on Midgard were it not for the hard-fought deal. The one that allowed Loki to use subterfuge and deception to open the way to a Chitauri force that would hopefully avoid the bloody confrontation that he had seen bring many other worlds to their knees even before Thanos was able to bestow his ‘mercy’. In truth, Loki wanted no part of Thanos’s twisted bid to save the universe from itself. All he wanted was to slip back into the void he had been plucked from and disappear into the obscurity that he deserved. But Thanos was not a being to be denied, and if Loki could not deny him, then perhaps he could buffer him, to protect the realm that had once almost become a second home from the same fate as so many before it.  

Anthony Stark had been little more than an intriguing distraction at first. A mortal who was just unique enough to catch and hold his attention after he had become trapped in the man’s home. Loki had been content to placate, even foster the man's endless thirst for knowledge not dissimilar to his own, feed it with stories of himself, of Asgard, and of the nine realms. Loki was repaid in kind with knowledge of Midgard, its technology, its legends, its people. Though it was only the storyteller Loki was interested in, it was an enjoyable way to spend his free time, a peaceful break from Asgard. He was accepted in that workshop in his totality, no derision, no mockery, only poorly masked awe and warm welcomes. It was not long before began to feel more at home there among the robots and metal suits than he did in the golden halls of Asgard. It was sufficient at least until the next fascination distracted him. But more and more time passed in that blue lit workshop and Loki realized that nothing could overtake Anthony’s prominence on his mind. 

So, Loki embraced it. The fascination with the mortal with a heart made of metal slowly grew. Fascination became respect, respect became kinship, maybe even something more.  Before he knew it, Anthony Stark was not just any mortal, he was  _his_ mortal. His brilliantly quick-witted Man of Iron that could wield machines like magic and used them for the good of those who could not defend themselves. His mortal who welcomed and sheltered him in his peaceful smithy, time after time. His mortal for whom Loki had fruitlessly scoured the universe in an attempt to prevent a fate that was in the very nature of mortals. 

Loki had never meant to be apart from him as long as he was. Never meant to abandon him in his moment of greatest need. The prank to disrupt Thor’s big day had gone very awry. He had anticipated Thor’s reaction, though admittedly underestimated the ferocity of it. What he had not anticipated was Odin’s punishment. He could not have anticipated the revelation of his parentage nor the abandonment of the Odinsleep so soon after. Everything had come so suddenly, so unexpectedly that it had consumed him, swallowed him in rage and he lost himself to his own fury.  

It was only after it was all over and Loki was falling through the void to his deserved end, that the sickening realization came like a blow to the stomach. Anthony had passed on without him and all Loki could do was hope and pray that he had at least not been alone, but those prayers did not help the pain that came with the knowledge that he had never said his goodbyes. That he would never see the man again. There was no power in the universe that would judge them equal enough to be allowed to share the same afterlife.  

When Loki had taken the Scepter and been transported to Midgard, it was to deliver the Earth for Thanos and protect Anthony’s former home from the 'mercy’ that Loki had witnessed Thanos bestow on other conquered worlds. It was the least Loki could do in his memory. 

But something had changed as he had walked the Earth, that Scepter in hand. His goals had shifted away from protecting Midgard from the greater evil, towards taking it for himself. He had started to believe he could earn his crown here, the one denied to him by the Allfather. He could recover the respect lost upon the discovery of his heritage. He was a god in this realm after all. The mortals would bow to him, worship him, and in time they would learn to love him for what he protected them from. 

The change had been so subtle that Loki did not realize it had been made. He likely never would have, if that familiar red and gold metal suit had not appeared while he was sparring with the Captain. Given he had not expected to ever see it again, it presented enough of a surprise for him to take pause. 

Loki had been angry at first. A portion of his constant simmering fury diverted away from his mission towards whoever was wearing that suit. It had fueled him, prepared him to stand and rip the metal from them piece by piece. How dare someone else assume his mantle?  

The sound of Anthony's voice had struck him hard enough to eject that rage. He was suspicious at first, but that sarcastic, snappy, bouncing cadence was so unique that even the mechanized projection of the suit could not disguise it. It had disarmed him so completely, the thought of fighting as he was escorted onto that jet did not even cross his mind. Seeing Anthony’s face was enough to cut through some of the dark haze he had maintained to protect himself and the vulnerability panicked him. But unlike his own family, Anthony looked at him with no pity, no anger, no malice. Unlike the Asgardians, Anthony did not see him as the monster he was. Unlike his brother, Anthony had searched for him after his death and had even built a monument to his disappearance in the form of the building in which he was making his last stand. There had been no more to fear from vulnerability in Anthony’s presence now than there had been what felt like a lifetime ago. No fear, only shame.  

Anthony had overcome death itself and was still  _his_ mortal. And what had Loki done to repay his loyalty, and his trust? 

Loki stood at the railing of the balcony of Stark Tower, watching Anthony streak away to defend his world, scrambling to reorder his thoughts, but he was could barely think. In allowing himself those moments of vulnerability, Anthony had hammered through everything Loki had begun to believe was true about his purpose here, undermining his flawed logic at every step until it collapsed on itself. Anthony was demanding an answer as to why and Loki found himself wanting. This whole endeavor had begun as a bid to protect Midgard. When had he decided that ruling it was the means to that end?  

He looked down at the Scepter in his hand, the gem at its heart glowing. A pulse of energy rippled up his forearm, prickling his skin as it went. The power that emanated from it had once been so comforting. It was reassuring guidance that his path was correct and righteous, but now he was beginning to question that power. His path  _wasn’t_ righteous. His path was dark, necessary, and the lesser of two immense evils, but certainly not righteous. When had he started to think it was? 

Another pulse from the Scepter flickered up his arm, stronger this time, reaching up to his shoulder and the side of his neck. Loki’s brow twitched and his instinctively arched his head away from it, fearing what would happen if it reached his mind. It knew. It could read his thoughts. This Scepter was little more than a powerful gem set in a gold and titanium frame, but somehow it knew his thoughts were wandering from its doctrine. Anthony had been right. Of course, he had been right. His brilliant mortal was the light to follow here, not this...this stick.  

Loki went to throw the Scepter to one side, to discard it and with it the soft whispers of Thanos’s desires, but his arm would not move. There was no sensation holding it still, no force preventing his fingers from relinquishing their grasp, no numbness preventing his control. Only his mind. His own thoughts defying his will to discard the Scepter.  No small part of him was muttering in soft, panicked phrases. Keep the Scepter. Its power was necessary. Keep its power or else fail in his mission. Fail Thanos and face the horrifying consequences. 

Loki scowled at that foreign muttering. What power was he giving up in casting the Scepter aside? Its lethal force was not much more than that held by the weapons of Asgard, and certainly no more than the Chitauri’s. Its mind-controlling ability could be easily overridden. Loki had found he had to reapply it to many a subjugated soldier where they have been knocked out cold. The true power of the Scepter was not his to wield. 

An explosion nearby caught his attention and Loki watched as Anthony brought down a Chitauri chariot with two blasts of his suit. The man billowed through the resulting smoke, wheeled around, and went after his next target, one of the hundreds that were now filtering through the great black mark on the sky.  

 _Make a choice_.  

The Scepter pulsed again. This time the power was so strong it felt like electricity crackling up his arm. A searing, burning pain dropped him to one knee with a grunt. It was trying to stop him. Trying to remind him of the threats that Thanos’s emissary had laid at his feet. To remind him of the dark, excruciating days he’d spent being ‘educated’ to Thanos’s way of thinking. To remind him what would be waiting for him if he went through with this. But Loki had already died his death and he refused to live this new life knowing this would be his legacy.  

The Scepter felt as though it was a bolt of lightning, burning in his hand, its energy flaring the nerves in his fingers overriding any orders he gave them to release his grip. Loki grit his teeth and summoned all the will he had left. With that, he made his choice.  

The scepter clattered away across the balcony and lay still like the stick of metal and glass that it seemed.  

Loki remained in his kneeling position for a moment. He took a deep breath in and released it audibly. His arm still hurt from the energy that had just been coursing through it, but it was lessening as his own healing began to undo what had been done. The constant frantic thoughts that had worked so hard to addict him to the scepter had quietened. They had by no means been silenced but they were quiet enough now that he finally could think again. He could work out what to do.  

The Chitauri were already here, he was too late to stop them completely but Anthony had been right. It wasn’t over. Despite what the scepter had tried to convince him, the Chitauri were not insurmountable, and by no means invincible if one knew them. And Loki knew them.  

He got unsteadily to his feet, fighting the urge to look back to the scepter, instead he looked out to the city. Anthony could be seen moving in and out of the buildings below, and one of the jets he’d once had Barton piloting was incoming. Possibly ferrying the rest of the ‘Avengers’ as Anthony had called them the fight. Not knowing where Thor was was an issue to be addressed, but it was not his priority. He turned to look up at the portal, tracing its origins to the roof above him.  

With one final breath, he strode back into the Tower to find his way back up to the roof.  

Selvig was stood before the contraption he’d built to house the Tesseract and amplify its power. Truthfully, Loki had no idea how it worked, he had been given the plan outline before he was sent on to Earth and it was Selvig who had brought it into existence. The physicist turned as Loki emerged onto the rooftop, the crunch of gravel under his boots drawing his attention.  

“The beacon is working perfectly,” he announced elatedly, beaming as he stepped towards Loki, still under the scepter’s thrall, still eager to receive praise from the being he had been convinced was his master.  

“Yes, I see that,” Loki advanced on the machine, barely paying Selvig any attention other than to step around him, “How do I turn it off?” 

Selvig looked bemused, but he was cut off before he could answer. 

“Loki!” Thor’s booming voice cut through the cacophony of explosions, sirens, and screams that were beginning to fill the city’s air. 

Loki exhaled and shook his head a little as he looked up and saw Thor speed down and land on the roof behind him, Mjolnir raised, ready to fight him once again. Loki just looked at him flatly. There was no time for this nor the energy for any fight with his brother. It would simply be a waste of effort and prevent him from undoing what he had done.

“Loki, stop this madness!” his brother demanded when Loki did not greet him.  

“Yes, thank you, I’m trying, Thor!” Loki snapped and was satisfied to see a note of surprise flash in Thor’s eyes and Mjolnir drooped a little in surprise. Any other time, Loki would have taken a moment to savor it, rub it in a little that Thor had underestimated him, but there was no time for that. 

He turned back to the machine and ran his eyes over it, ticking from the Tesseract, to the steel frame, the mass of wires snaking out of the force field to the computer system a little way off. He cursed himself that he hadn’t found the strength to fight the control of the scepter while Anthony was still nearby. He was sure that his mortal would have been able to decipher this in seconds. There was no way he could reach through the forcefield, perhaps if he- 

His thoughts were cut off by an all too familiar bellow somewhere behind him. He instinctively ducked to the side just in time to see Thor bring Mjolnir down on the contraption’s forcefield. As Loki expected, it reflected the immense force wielded by Thor back at them with no loss of power. The resultant shock wave threw the three of them back, lifting them from their feet and depositing them all ungracefully on the gravel. The wind was knocked from Loki’s lungs as he landed squarely on his back and he coughed to regain his breath. Thor grunted somewhere nearby, and Selvig lay unconscious a little way off. That may have actually been a blessing in disguise. Perhaps Selvig had the knowledge to shut down this machine now that he was free of the scepter’s control. So long as the force of being thrown back had not killed him, of course.  

“Incredible,” Loki groaned and rolled himself to his front once he had recovered his breath a little, “Thank you for your contribution to the problem-solving process, Thor. Invaluable as ever,” he pushed himself to his feet. “Why don’t you go and apply your scientific method to the Chitauri while I figure out how to more precisely turn off the Tesseract?” 

“Turn if off?” Thor asked, suspiciously as he stood alongside him, looking between the machine and the sky, “You want to turn if off?” 

“Yes,” Loki approached Selvig and crouched beside him, reaching down to give him a gentle shake. The man did not respond, but luckily, he appeared to be breathing. “I had hoped to use the knowledge of the man who built it in order to do so,but I suppose that must now wait. I can only hope a concussion has not affected his memory.” 

Thor regarded Loki carefully, bouncing the weight of Mjolnir in his hand, “To what end?” 

“There is no trick here, Thor,” Loki told him insistently, standing and pushing past him back to the machine, “The Chitauri are controlled by a command center beyond the portal, if they are cut off from it, then they will fall. It is the only way to beat them.” 

“You expect me to believe that you will willingly destroy your own force, I will not be fooled by you again, brother,” Thor said, but his words were not as forceful as they had once been.  

“They are not  _my_ force, I want to see their end as much as you do,” Loki hissed and looked back to him, turning slightly. He did not need Thor to believe him, but he needed to be allowed to test the extent of this contraption and he could not do that while his brother was still threatening violence. “You think this destruction is what I wanted?  War has always been your proclivity not mine. Believe what you will about me, but I do not desire death.” 

“Then what do you desire?” Thor asked. 

The question was complicated enough for Loki to take pause. There was so much that he wanted, but none of it mattered right now, and it never would if he could not stop Thanos’s claims to this realm. “Time,” Loki answered finally, “I need time to learn this machine. Once Selvig awakens he should know its weakness, but I cannot know how long it will take him to wake. Your friends are already fighting the Chitauri but I fear they will fail if you do not help them.” 

Thor regarded him thoughtfully, critically but Mjolnir was now resting at his side. He could tell that he had sidestepped the true meaning of the question but he knew Loki well enough not to press any further, “What happens if the machine has no weakness?” 

Loki looked back to Selvig and then up to the machine, “The Chitauri cannot be overcome by force alone. For every one you slay, five more will replace it.” A growling shriek cut through the air as a Chitauri Leviathan soared through the dark scar in the sky, bringing home their ticking clock. “And they have flying beasts the size of buildings. If I cannot close the portal, then that center must be destroyed.” 

Thor watched the Leviathan, his hammer raised pre-emptively but Loki was looking down to the city where the other members of the Avengers were battling for their home. They were holding their own but this was by no means the pinnacle of the Chitauri forces and there was none among them who would be able to stand for long against the Leviathans.  

“They need your aid, Thor!” Loki reiterated, drawing Thor’s attention, “Mistrust me if you will but if you waste any more time here debating my motives then your friends will die and this will all be for naught!” 

Thor regarded him for one long moment as he came to his decision, “Very well. I will buy you your time, brother, but this does not forgive your past crimes. Do not attempt to flee.” With that, the hammer was whirled and Thor ascended into the sky. 

“I’ll be here,” Loki muttered to himself and returned his attention to the Tesseract. He had no doubt that Thor would return here after this was done and force him to face reparations for his crimes both here on Midgard, and on Asgard. But his time in whatever dungeon Odin would likely sentence him to would be easier to bear if he knew he had not completely condemned Anthony’s world to ruin. 

And he would not abandon Anthony again.  


	7. Chapter 7

The battle raged around him. It was not on the scale of the battles that Loki had seen in his lifetime, but it would not get any easier. If it was not stopped now then there was no hope. The Chitauri had begun to pour through the portal now, screeching excited bloodlust as they descended on the city below, their weapons fired with apparent randomness. The Leviathans came too, their bellows echoing through the air at a frequency that made the buildings tremble. Explosions of metal and glass rained down as their sheer bulk smashed through the city, blasting through them as though they were paper. 

As they had been every other time Loki had seen them unleashed, they were a force to behold.  

But so were the Avengers.  

From his lofty vigil, Loki could not make out exactly what was going on in the chaos of the streets below, but it was enough of a commotion to keep the attention of the invading army focused on them. He had even watched as two of the Leviathans were rendered incapable, one by the wild force of the Hulk, and the other by the questionably suicidal tactics of his own mortal.  

Every few seconds, Loki reassessed what he could possibly do as he paced impotently along the roof edge. But every train of thought eventually came to a sudden, final end. There was nothing he could do. Not from here. The Chitauri knew better than to make any attempt to damage the building that was powering their means of ingress so they were not coming anywhere near enough for him to do any damage, and Loki could not leave this roof until Selvig recovered. He couldn’t guarantee that the Chitauri wouldn’t target him directly if Loki wandered too far. He’d long since exhausted any ideas of how to turn off the contraption himself, the surrounding force field seemed immune to any form of  attack both physical and magical.  

He had never felt more useless.  

Agent Romaonv was not as quiet in her approach as she had been the first time they had met in the brig of the flying fortress. Loki had known one of them would make their way up here eventually. Thor may well be trusting enough to leave him to his own devices but the others would be foolish to do so. She opened the door to the rooftop about ten feet from where Loki was pacing, and stepped out onto the gravel with no attempt to conceal her presence. He didn’t pause, simply glanced her way to acknowledge her presence and then went back to his three-pace route. She had her pistol trained on him, but it was a small weapon, he’d seen many the same in his time on Midgard, and they would not cause him any harm. She didn't matter, not immediately, not unless she knew something that he didn't. Which was unlikely. 

“Thor seems to think you’re one of the good guys now,” she spoke calmly. 

“The good guys...” Loki chuckled and smirked at her on his return pace, “I wouldn’t go that far.” 

“Stark seems to think so too,” Romanov said and Loki finally stopped and turned to look at her. Did she know about his relationship with Anthony? 

“Your friend is an...optimistic judge of character,” Loki muttered honestly, the looked back out over the city where the man himself was cruising between the buildings, taking down chariots as he went. It seemed like he was going away from the Tower. A frown twitched at Loki’s forehead. What was he doing? 

“Awfully sure of that considering you’ve never met him before,” she replied, effectively distracting his attention and he lost sight of Anthony behind a building. 

Loki glanced at her, evaluating her expression, trying to discern whether she was bluffing or whether Anthony had told them, but he quickly came to the conclusion that it was one of the many things that needed to be put aside for later. The more pressing issue of open war was still at hand. He looked back to the city without answering. 

“You know how to turn this off?” Romanov asked.  

“I’m afraid not, but he may,” Loki turned and gestured at Selvig, as a soft groan fell from the man’s lips. Romanov lowered her pistol and went to kneel by Selvig. Loki made no move to follow. “So long as Thor’s specific brand of lullaby has not had an irreversible effect,” he commented as an afterthought.  

With the maelstrom of noises in the air and the distance between them, Loki could not hear what Romanov was saying as she gently helped Selvig up into a sitting position.  The man seemed disoriented but largely lucid as he spoke with the Black Widow. Lucid enough at least to react with horror and fear when he looked up to find Loki stood across the rooftop from him, regarding him with curious interest. The Agent calmed him quickly, and Loki began to consider it may actually have been fortunate she had decided that she didn’t trust Loki to be alone with the contraption. Whatever secret Selvig might keep about the machinery that housed the Tesseract was more likely to be given up to an ally rather than the man who had held him captive.  

Thankfully, it appeared that all he had to do was keep his distance and it was not long before Selvig gave them their answer. Of course, not loud enough for Loki to overhear, just muttered it quietly to Agent Romanov. Once he'd given it, she stood and strode back to Loki with none of the caution he would have expected from one who had believed him to be an enemy less than ten minutes ago.  

“Where’s the scepter?” she demanded.  

Her tone made Loki pull up an eyebrow. It had been a long time since anyone had spoken to him like that, “Why?” 

“Apparently it’s the only way through your forcefield,” Romanov told him quickly, “Where is it?” 

Loki regarded her a moment longer then brought his eyes down to the balcony they were standing several floors above. The scepter was still laying where he had discarded it, glowing a soft blue. There was a tiny part of him that had expected to see it had moved, as though there was some power behind it that would have it drag itself back to him.  

Romanov followed his gaze spotting the scepter, “You’re not gonna stop me?” It was almost a dare. 

“You are welcome to it,” Loki wrinkled his nose at, not completely able to mask the disgust from his voice, “It would be a risk to your life and mine if I were to touch that thing again.” 

Black Widow narrowed her eyes at him thoughtfully, for a second, “Big baby.” With that she spun on her heels and ran for the rooftop door. 

She was gone too fast for Loki to react to the insult, but he let it go. The weight on his shoulders was lifted a little. There was a solution. This could be ended before it began and Anthony's world could be left to recover. It was just one city, and less than a square mile of one at that. So long as Selvig’s solution worked… 

He watched as the Black Widow darted out along the balcony and snatched up the scepter as quickly and easily as her namesake. It irked him how easily she carried it, as though it was little more than the pretty trinket it appeared to be. She glanced up at him as she turned back to the entrance, expecting him to do something. He made no attempt conceal that he was watching her but remained still until she disappeared into the building. Once she was out of sight, Loki took a deep breath and looked out over the city once more. There smoke rising up through the buildings, fires burning from broken pipelines, shattered glass and rubble coated the streets below. The air was filled with the booms of explosions, the roars. It twisted his gut to see it and know this was his fault. Thanos would come for this world eventually, but Loki’s one goal had been to protect it from this devastation. 

After a second, he realized something. Stark was missing.  

A frown twitched between his eyes. Any sense of calm that had come from knowing that there was an end in sight was undermined by the knowledge that were few reasons that he would remove himself from the battlefield. None of them were good. 

“Hey, your majesty, you still with us!” Agent Romanov's sarcastic voice pulled him from his frantic search of the city below. He dragged his gaze away to find her striding across the roof toward the contraption.  

“It appears one of your number is missing,” Loki commented as idly as possible, falling into stride beside her.  

“Oh yeah?” Romanov answered with none of the fear that Loki would have liked to hear in her voice given Anthony‘s sudden disappearance, “You worried things are going too far your way?”  

Loki clenched his jaw but said nothing more.   

The agent shot him a single raised eyebrow as she came to a stop in front of the contraption, the scepter levelled at it. Once she felt steady, she lifted her hand and touched it to her ear.  

“We can close it!” she said, clearly speaking into some sort of communication device. Perhaps Stark was on the other side of it, “Does anybody copy? We can close the portal.” 

She paused, listening.  

“Yeah...we,” she glanced sideways at Loki.  

Loki met her eyes for a second. There was no going back on this now. He had made his choice. 

Agent Romanov’s gaze suddenly snapped up to the sky, and Loki's followed.  

It took a moment before he saw it, a speck on the horizon, streaking towards them, “What is that?” 

“That would be our missing number,” Romanov told him, that worry that Loki had wanted to hear suddenly entering her voice.  

Loki frowned back up to the sky. That wasn’t Stark, it couldn’t be, the shape was wrong. Unless....he was carrying something. Something almost his size. “What is he doing?” 

“He’s decided that a bomb big enough to blow up the city would be better placed elsewhere. You said the command center is on the other side of the portal right?” 

They both stood fell silent, watching as the Iron Man streaked across the sky in a direct, unwavering path.  

“The command center hangs in the void of space. If he goes through that portal he’ll die,” Loki spoke hurriedly as he looked back to her, hoping to see her press her hand to her ear to relay the message, to stop Anthony before it was too late.  

But she didn’t. She simple shuffled slightly on the spot, “I think he knows...” she didn’t look away from him. 

By the time, Loki looked back, he just had time to watch as Anthony disappeared into the void and every one of Loki’s fears came crashing back.  

Movement caught his attention out of the corner of his eye and he reacted without thinking. His arm shot out and gripped the scepter with one hand, holding still in its path to the Tesseract. He may not have been as strong Thor, but there was no mortal that could overcome him. Romanov didn’t even try.  

That familiar rush of energy coursed up his arm, renewing those soft, whispering thoughts he’d so hard against. They wanted him to take the Scepter, wrench it from her grasp, retake what he deserved. If he acted now he could still do it. He could still take Midgard for himself.  

Loki grit his teeth and shook his head against them, resolving his will.  

“Not yet,” Loki hissed.  

“The world hangs in the balance and you bargain for one man,” she commented, sounding almost amused.  

Loki didn’t respond, he only barely registered that she had spoken at all. His eyes were fixed on the portal. Despite the constant whispering thoughts, Loki wanted this to end. For all of it to end. But he would not sacrifice his mortal so readily to see it happen. Anthony would be back. It would take more than a few seconds of space to kill that man. He just needed a chance.  

Of course, he didn’t need to wait long.  

The sight of the suit emerging from the portal made it easy for him to let the scepter go again. He didn’t even have to think about it. Loki took a couple of steps away toward the roof edge. Somewhere behind, he was just about aware of a pulse of energy that bulged out of the Tesseract, billowing around him. Romanov had finished her job. The pulse ascended into the sky and the portal began to shrink as the Iron Man cruised away from it.  

Loki had seen the suit in flight many times before. He knew how it moved, how it streaked in a singular direction like an arrow shot from a bow. Anthony had never been shy of showing off, always eager to demonstrate some new ability he had created and so Loki had seen many test flights. Many of those had not been successful. Almost as many times as Loki had seen him in flight, Loki had seen Anthony in freefall.  

This was the latter.  

“Something's wrong…” Loki said quietly as a fresh weight landed in his stomach. 

He watched Anthony plunged through the air and any modicum of ease erupted from Loki like feathers in a hurricane. The one being in all the universe who had never abandoned him was dying before his very eyes all he could do was stand by and do nothing. It hurt. It hurt badly. 

“Heads up, Stark’s coming in hot,” he vaguely heard Romanov say behind him, into that communicator most likely.  

All of the fear and rage that had come at the realization that Loki had abandoned Anthony in his final hour paled in miniscule comparison to watching him fall to his death trying save his home from what Loki had brought. Loki may as well have killed him himself.  

“ANTHONY!!”  

The cry went up before he could stop himself. As if by calling the man's name might somehow snap him out of it, turn him around, save him. But it didn’t. Anthony continued his plummet and as he neared the ground Loki found himself unable to breathe.  

The sudden movement of the Hulk launching himself across Stark's trajectory was enough to knock Loki from his paralysis with a sudden sharp inhale. He watched as the Hulk brought Anthony the rest of the way to the ground and laid him out on the ground where his form was obscured as the rest of the Avengers surrounded it.  

“Did you just call him Anthony?” Romanov appeared in his periphery.  

Loki kept his attention focused on the ground below them, watching for any indication, any movement. He needed to know.  

A great roar rose from the city. 

A second later, Romanov looked up at him and said, “He's alive.” 

Her words washed over him and he felt himself exhale audibly. Anthony was alive. He swallowed then glanced sideways at Romanov who was watching him with curious suspicion, measuring his reaction. Loki said nothing. He swayed back away from the edge and turned for the roof door.  

“Hey, where you going?!” 

Loki didn't respond. 

Now that it was all over, the reality of what he had done was beginning to sink in. Though in truth he had done little more than stand aside, in Thanos's eyes he had committed the greatest sin. Failure. The rasping words of the Other repeated themselves in his mind as he descended the stairs back to Anthony’s home proper. They were not idle threats. He knew that first hand. 

As he stepped out into the large lounge of the Tower, Loki considered running. He could feel the energy of the passage somewhere nearby, it wouldn’t take long to find it. Though there was no way of telling where it might lead, it might well give him a head start. But what use was a head start if there was no finish in sight? He would not be able to outrun Thanos, not forever and certainly not alone. And after having comes to terms with his own demise once before, he was not so keen as to do it again so soon. His options were limited.  

Loki crossed to the bar top where Anthony had offered him a drink not so long ago. It was as well stocked as expected, and even had a bottle of Loki's favorite set aside. A soft smile hitched his lips as he lifted the glass stopper and inhaled a scent he had almost forgotten.  

“Just helping yourself now are we?” 

Loki hesitated at the sound of Anthony’s voice spoke from the entrance to the balcony. It brought with it a rush of emotion that had been unknowingly held at bay by the power of the scepter. The dark sadness at the thought of his passing, the excitement of learning he was alive, only to watch him plummet two thousand feet to what rightly should have been his death because of what Loki had done. It tensed his muscles and brought a rush to his heartbeat, but Loki could not let it be betrayed in his movements. Anthony would not want his affection, not now, not after everything he had done and he did not deserve the guilt of having to rebuke it. 

“I’m merely taking you up on the offer you made me earlier,” Loki replied after he’d made sure he was in control of himself, pouring out the measure of liquor into a waiting glass without lifting his gaze to acknowledge Anthony’s presence. He wasn’t sure he would be able to avoid reacting if he saw the impact of the war that Loki had brought on the only being in the universe he cared to save. “I thought that I had done worse things that take up an offer a little while after it would be socially acceptable to do so,” he continued, trying to distract his thoughts, “Would you like one?” 

“Almost always,” Anthony answered with an unexpected lightness to his voice that almost caught him off-guard. Perhaps he was not so hated as he thought. 

He smiled a little to himself as he considered the wild thought and poured a second drink. He could hear Anthony footsteps getting closer. They were confident, easy footsteps, not the limping, pained gait he had expected. Loki finally lifted his gaze as he approached.  

Anthony was unfairly uninjured considering what he had just been through. There was nothing about his appearance or demeanor that would betray he had just fought a battle. He took the offered drink and sipped it, even closing his eyes to enjoy the taste. Loki regarded him quietly, simply enjoying his presence, the ease with which the man stood in his presence, as though there was nothing wrong. As though his city had not nearly been destroyed. 

“Oh thank god,” Anthony sighed, opening his eyes and peering at the whisky in the glass, “You know I don’t usually like this, must mix well with an adrenaline chaser.” 

“War can make you appreciate many little things,” Loki commented idly, taking a sip of his own drink.  

Anthony’s gaze flicked back to him, his expression a little guarded but by no means as wary of fearful as it should have been, “You’re looking less...mind-control-y.” 

Loki raised his chin a little, “Yes, well, when I do take a realm for myself, I will not have it said it was done because I was compelled to.” 

Anthony rose an eyebrow but it was not hard to see the guard of his expression fall away and the corner of his mouth twitch up into a flickering smile, “I’m going to take that as the joke I know it is, but I wouldn’t go talking like that around the others. They’re not so familiar with your specific brand of humor.” 

“Ah yes, the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” Loki nodded, simply happy that Anthony was safe and apparently calm, “Did you make them take the stairs?” 

Anthony took a moment to take a drink then looked back to him, “I asked them to give me a ten minute head start.” 

Loki rose an eyebrow, “Oh? And what do you aim to accomplish in these ten minutes of grace?” 

“Well have a drink for one, maybe tidy up the place before I have to host,” he took a step around the bar top so that there was nothing left between them. Anthony gave him an up and down quickly then went to top up his drink, “And I did want to try and talk to you. Properly I mean, without the world domination obsession coming between us. It’s been, what? Two months since you disappeared?”  

Loki smiled but tried to twist into a teasing smirk, “How sentimental.” 

Unexpectedly, Anthony reached out and wrapped his hand around the one that Loki was holding his glass in. That familiar, comforting tingle of magic and the electromagnetic power of the man’s Heart made him sigh quietly. He saw the smile on Anthony’s face grow slightly at the touch but he didn’t react any further, instead lifting the bottle to top up Loki’s drink as well as he spoke, “I’m on near death experience number four now and probably counting, so give me a break.” 

Loki let his smile linger enjoying the warmth of Anthony’s hand that lingered on his skin even after Anthony let go, “Perhaps it’s time to install those safety systems you were always talking about,” then took a sip of his fresh drink.  

“Yeah, you’d think so,” Anthony let the thought drift away as a new, intent expression took over his features, “I don’t blame you, you know.” 

The sharp turn of the conversation snapped through Loki’s growing comfort and wiped the smile from his face. It was unexpected enough that Loki scrambled to find a response.  

“I know what it’s like,” Anthony continued, clearly away of the effect his words had had on him, “Torture, I mean. It does things to a guy. Makes you consider a lot of stupid things to get out of it,” he paused, and Loki looked away. “I don’t know what it's like to be on the other end of that magic stick thingy, but I’ve seen what it can do good people.” 

“I’m not a good person, Anthony,” Loki told him quietly.  

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t talking about you,” Anthony quipped, lightheartedly and Loki realized that Anthony was being truthful. He didn’t blame him. He cared for him. These ten minutes were his way giving them both a reprieve in the eye of what would likely be an incredible storm when it eventually hit. Loki just couldn’t help but smile. Anthony mirrored it for a moment then glanced around the room, “Speaking of, where is the glow stick destiny?” 

“I presume Agent Romanov still has it,” Loki answered glancing off to the door to the rooftop.  

“Thor says we can keep it,” Anthony told him, sounding misguided excited at the prospect, “So long as he gets to take the Tesseract, back with him. Says it’ll be safer on Asgard.” 

“He’s not wrong,” Loki agreed, “Asgard is a powerful realm, to my knowledge it has never been conquered.” 

Anthony sniffed, looking suddenly much less excited about whatever he was about to say next, “Is that why he wants to take you back too?” 

The news should not have come as a surprise but the thought of returning to Asgard suddenly filled him with dread, even if it would likely be the safest place for him. It must have been obvious on his face because Anthony looked grim. He forced himself to smile, “Well, I have heard that the dungeons are a particularly secure part of the Nine Realms.” 

Anthony seemed to consider something then sniffed and apparently shoved the thought away, instead glancing out of the window. “Our time’s almost up. You'll have to save the story of what actually happened to you until next time.” 

Loki gave a sad smile and decided not to tell him that there likely would never be a next time. “Thank you, Anthony.” It wasn’t a series of words that Loki was used to saying, but he didn’t know when or if he would ever be able to return to his realm. It would be his only opportunity to tell him. “For taking the time to continue the fight for a cause everyone else considered lost.” 

“There’s no such thing as a lost cause, Lokes,” Anthony said it so easily, so confidently that Loki almost believed it. The familiar nickname a flash of warmth to his heart. “Remember that.” 

Everything happened quickly after that.  

The room suddenly filled with people. Not only the Avengers but a hoarde of suited men and women, all moving with the kind of deliberate speed that indicated that they were largely here to pretend to busy so they could find out what was going on. The Captain was the one who ended up giving the orders that people listened to. There were uneasy glances shot Loki's way by everyone but they kept their distance. Anthony was unfortunately dragged away by civic duty. But for a few quiet moments Loki was left alone. It gave him time to finish his drink and watch the proceedings in relative peace before Thor finally made his way through the room. 

As soon as he did, Loki was quickly gathered up, and handcuffed. Sadly, Thor made the executive decision that whiskey was not a privilege he was allowed and confiscated the remains of his drink. So Loki had to watch the final clean up operation drink-less, and only half listening as Thor explained his plan to return to Asgard. Once the Tesseract and the scepter was secure, and all of the suited officials that wanted to stop Thor from taking what he wanted learned what happened when they tried, Loki was bundled from the room, alongside the Avengers.  

It felt like almost no time at all before he was stood beside Thor in one of the more open parts of the city. The rest of the Avengers stood in a loose ring around them, likely very curious to see a pair of aliens leave their city. Glad to see the back of Loki most likely, except one. Anthony stood among them, now dressed in a smart suit and tinted glassed, having demanded to be allowed to shower and change before the news crews arrived. He was the only one who’s expression was anything but disgust.  

Loki was still not so sure exactly how much the others knew of their prior relationship, but they held each other’s gaze. He looked away briefly when Thor offered the other side of some device, likely the only way to return to Asgard give the Bifrost was likely still not repaired. Once he had hold of it, he lifted his gaze back to Anthony one final time, and gave one last, small smile before the light of inter-realm travel enveloped him and he was unwillingly taken from his mortal once again. 

 


	8. Chapter 8

There had been no time to stop and breathe after New York.  

Tony had stayed for a few days after it was all over, overseeing some of the more immediate works to make the city safe enough for the reconstruction to start, but he’d bowed out as soon as he could. It had been a struggle to work out of Stark Tower, what with the constant glaring reminder of what had happened sat just outside his living room window. He’d retreated to his Malibu Point home in the hopes of taking a bit of time for himself, try and calm down, deal with the nightmares that had started since the battle.  

The realization that he might be dealing with PTSD wasn’t entirely surprising given his sudden, if brief, experience with the void of space and what it contained. Mental illness could be dealt with. That's what expensive therapy was for, and in the meantime, he could distract himself with the creation of the House Party protocol amd various other means to avoid anything like New York happening again. He thought he’d have at least a few months of calm. Quite frankly that the least the universe could do after the shitty few months he'd had recently. But the universe didn't seem to agree. Instead itthrew another curve ball at him in the form of the Mandarin.  

The bastard managed to hurt two of his best friends and destroy his own private sanctuary before Tony, or more precisely Pepper, brought him down. After it was all over, everyone had questioned why Tony had wanted to go back to his house’s remains. There was nothing left there, but Tony had demanded it be made safe enough to look round at least, explaining the want away by saying there was a lot of unique technology that had been left behind. Which was true, Dum-E and U were still in there somewhere and he wasn’t going to leave them alone in that rubble. But what Tony hadn’t mentioned was the Ding Dong array, the one-of-a-kind set of sensors that could tell when something or someone was about to pass through a wormhole. Given that it had been half designed by Loki with his Asgardian technology, Tony doubted his own abilities to recreate it from memory. He needed to find as much of it as he could. 

He’d told himself that he was only collecting it for defensive purposes. If he could recreate it, improve it, he might be able to set versions of it up across the country, maybe even the world, to try to monitor these secret back passages onto Earth in case any threat finds their way through. Tony tried not to think about what, or more accurately who, he actually wanted to find falling through one of those portals.  

His less than perfect mental health was considered a reasonable reaction to what he’d been through in the Battle of New York. His feelings about the perpetrator of that battle may not be. He knew what he should be feeling. Anger, betrayal, resentment, sadness, etc. That’s what everyone else was feeling. That’s what Cap had told him he should be feeling on the one, mistaken attempt Tony had made to try and talk to him about it. As far as he knew, Cap was the only one who knew about Tony and Loki’s previous relationship. Nat had made some vague comments, but as usual, Tony couldn’t tell the different between what she knew and what she was guessing at, so he didn’t push it.  

But Tony couldn’t find it in him to feel anything but a sense of incompleteness. As though the last few chapters of the story had been ripped out and it was left unfinished. It irritated him that there was so clearly something else going on but everyone else was fine just to simply chalk all this up to Loki having some kind of temper tantrum. Tony had seen Loki’s tantrums. His workshop had once been the guy’s safe haven from the various things that angered him. His tantrums were loud and reactive, he’d pace, he’d yell, he’d throw things, both physically and magically, but they were usually over as fast as they came about. He would burn through his energy quickly enough once he was separated from whatever it was that had angered him in the first place. Sometimes he held a grudge, but his revenge was rarely bloody. New York was not a temper tantrum.  

And what was with the sudden hatred of his family? He’d never spoken of them with fondness, but ‘so called father’ had sparked so many questions that there had been no time to ask. No one had been able to give him any information about where Thor had taken him. Back to Asgard, presumably, but after that was unknown. The only reason he had given for his inquiries had been some vague reference to needing to know what he knew if he was going to figure out how to effectively use the scepter. To an extent, Tony was beginning to believe that was the only reason.  

But deep down, underneath all the logic and the false smiles, Tony just missed him. 

Tony turned the car up the private road towards Malibu Point, mentally preparing himself for seeing the remains of his former home. He’d been told it was in ruins, with little more than the floor that had been carved from the cliff itself remaining, and that that assessment looked to be pretty much accurate. There was only a few low walls and the designed pattern on the floor that marked the area as anything more than a rocky outcrop.  

It would take some serious rebuilding, Tony thought as he paused a moment in the car and surveyed it.  

Something caught his eye and he scowled. It was the one thing he had not prepared for seeing as he arrived. A figure was sat cross-legged on the remains of the floor, facing out over the sea but even from behind, the silhouette was unmistakable.  

Tony froze in the car seat. His approach hadn’t been quiet, he hadn’t thought there was a need to be, but Loki hadn’t turned to look towards the sound of the car engine. He didn’t look like he was moving at all. With one quick motion, Tony pressed his glasses up his nose with a finger and got out the car, letting it clap closed behind him. At the noise, he saw Loki’s head turn slightly, enough to show he’d heard it but not enough to see his eyes.  

“I suggest you leave this place,” his voice was low, threatening, but not the maddened hiss that it had been when he had been under the influence of the scepter, “You are not welcome here.” 

It was an odd thing to say. Odd enough that Tony decided to press his luck, “Well it is my house…sort of,” at the sound of his voice Loki turned to look over his shoulder fully. There was a slight glimmer to his eye that was blinked away quickly as confusion and then soft surprise and a momentary smile flickered over his face in quick succession. Clearly, for whatever reason, Loki was just as shocked to see Tony as was vice versa. Tony took a few steps into the ruin, then stopped and gave a small, gentle smile. “It’s been a while since I found you skulking about in my house. Talk about déjà vu.” 

Slowly, Loki started to get to his feet, eyes fixed on him, “Anthony...” he’d lost any threat to his voice, as he breathed his name, sounding disbelieving, yet hopeful, “You’re alive.” 

Tony frowned at him, “Last I checked...?” 

Loki was stood upright now, and seemed to understand his question and he gestured absently at the surrounding debris, “Ah, I saw the rubble and...well, I suppose I assumed the worst. Apologies,” he spoke quietly, and if Tony didn’t know the guy better he’d say Loki seemed embarrassed at what he was saying.  

Tony glanced around the floor for a moment then looked back to him, deciding it was a fair assumption to make. He couldn't help but take a note of pleasure in seeing that Loki’s reaction to thinking he was dead. That glimmer hadn't quite been blinked away completely, not for lack of trying. Aside from that, Loki looked like he was in pretty good shape considering the circumstances.  He was dressed a lot closer to how he had when he used to visit, having returned more to cotton and leather than gold and steel. His hair was still long but it now sat in soft waves, a much nicer look than the sharp spikes of his previous style. It looked good. Tony wrinkled his nose, “Hot tip, don’t give your address out to domestic terrorists if you want to keep your real estate.” 

“Noted,” Loki answered and looked as though he was about to ask something but decided against it. Whatever he was doing here, his assumption that Tony was dead only to find out he was alive had thrown him off his usual calm, collected demeanor. He seemed awkward and unsure, shuffling where he stood.  

“You’re lucky I called off the rebuild,” Tony continued, smirking at the guy’s awkwardness. Was he nervous about being here? This was the first time he’d seen the guy since Thor had taken him away, it would make sense if he was worried about Tony’s reaction at him suddenly turning up. But despite what he should have been feeling, on the sight of him healthy, calm, and most importantly here? Tony could only find himself feeling relieved.  “Not sure the average construction worker would react so well to finding you hanging around threatening people when they try and come close.” 

“If it brings you any comfort I’m not actually here, not truly,” Loki said, a note of confidence returning to his voice, bolstered by Tony’s ease. It was a note Tony knew well. Tony watched as he bent to reach for a bit of rock at his feet and arched his eyebrows in surprise as his hand passed straight through it. “Physically, I am confined to a glass box in the dungeons of Asgard,” he explained standing back up right and lifting his gaze to Tony as he approached, “But magically?”  

Loki held out his hand as Tony came close and Tony reciprocated, reaching out to touch his hand. But there was no hand, only a slight chill as it passed straight through with a soft flash of green-gold light. Loki gave an easy shrug.  

Tony didn’t bother to hide the impressed look on his face, it did a good job of hiding the tinge of disappointment that he felt at the realization that this was just the image of Loki. It gave him the opposite comfort. The guy himself was still a million lightyears away, locked away in some prison. The thought of it stung a little more than Tony was expecting but at least he was not trapped, not completely. “Are they not worried about what you might be getting up to on your magical walking tours?” 

Loki scoffed, “I highly doubt that  _they_  care about anything I do now that I am safely out of sight and out of mind. They are confident enough in the security of their dungeon to consider me no longer a threat to anything but my own sanity. Naturally, they don’t bother to check in very often.” 

That sting flared again and Tony sighed a little, looking around the rubble and out over the ocean beyond, “Sorry, your usual vacation spot isn’t quite up to code,” he commented, trying to lighten the mood a little, “You could have come to the tower, though the views aren’t quite as scenic at the moment. We’re working on it.” 

Loki frowned at him, “You’re not...angry at my presence here?” 

“Should I be?” 

“I brought an army to your world, and very nearly destroyed your city,” Loki said, sounding genuinely confused, watching Tony carefully with a guarded expression, “I very nearly got you killed.” 

Tony pushed his hands into his pockets and held Loki’s gaze as he answered, “In case you couldn’t tell, I have a  _time_ since the last we saw each other. Happy was nearly killed by a human bomb, Pepper was kidnapped by some dragon wannabe with a vendetta against me and if she wasn’t so much of a badass in her own right I would be dead too,” he paused and swallowed against that dangerous bubble of fear that threatened to well up, “I’m getting pretty sick of anger. Way I see it, my energy is better spent actually trying to figure out what went down in New York and why it went down that way. Why would I be angry to see the only guy who could tell me what happened on the other side of the portal?” 

Loki regarded him thoughtfully for a moment and then gave a half-smile, “You are smarter than the Allfather.” 

“He’s not worried about what might have the power to force one of his kids to try to take over another realm?” Tony asked with a frown. 

“He didn’t care to ask,” Loki stated, flatly.   

Tony raised an eyebrow at him, “And you didn’t care to tell?”  

Loki rolled his eyes and shook his head, “The Asgardians seem content to believe that my attack on Midgard was simply a part of my nature. Why should I waste my breath trying to convince them otherwise?” he asked, a dark smirk on his face as he shrugged.  

Tony just looked at him silently.  

He could see Loki’s eyes tick between his as he searched his gaze then exhaled audibly as he understood the disapproving look he was being given, “You think I should have told them nonetheless...” 

“It just rubs me up the wrong way when one guy decides what information is and isn’t shared,” Tony explained, raising his shoulders into a shrug, “Especially when that information pertains to an intergalactic army. I’d certainly be pissed if I found out you’d hidden it from me.” 

Loki watched him for a second then failed the staring contest and glanced away, chewing on the inside of his lip in silent thought. After a few seconds, he looked back to Tony, “Very well. I will try, but I don’t believe they will listen.” 

“I’m sure they’ll appreciate it,” Tony offered, “You might even save some lives.” 

“I’m not doing it for them,” the statement came so quickly it almost cut off the end of Tony’s sentence, “Every other being that knows me, thinks me a monster. I would not have that of you too.” 

“That why you came here?” Tony came to the conclusion to the question he’d asked himself the moment he'd seen Loki sat on the floor, “To try and convince me you’re not a monster?” 

Loki’s throat bobbed, “Would that be the worst thing in the realms?” he asked softly.  

“I guess not. But I wouldn’t worry too much, I don’t need much convincing," he flashed as smile at Loki then quickly wiped it as his thoughts moved away from becoming too sentimental, “Though you should know that I’m not planning on being back here for a while. Does your magic facetime reach New York?” 

“Possibly, if I knew where New York was,” the name of the city was clearly uncomfortable for Loki to say, “The reason I found my way here is because I know where it is in relation to the wormhole.” 

“Can’t you just come with me?” Tony pointed at the car behind him, “There’s two seats.” 

Loki didn’t even glance in the car’s direction, just rose a single eyebrow at Tony, “This a projection. It can't sit in a car.” 

Tony thought for a moment, “But if I show you where the tower is in relation to here, you can ‘project’ there?” 

“Probably.” 

Tony was already pulling out his phone and opening up online maps as he came up to stand next to Loki’s projection. Without thinking, he tried to lean in and almost fell when he met no resistance. Once he righted himself, he showed Loki the phone’s screen, “We’re here,” he showed him the blue spot on the map, then zoomed the image out with his fingers, and zoomed back in on the right place, being careful to show him the path between them “This is New York, and this is the Tower. You remember how high up the penthouse was? There's a wormhole there.” 

Once he had finished peering at the phone’s screen, Loki looked down at Tony, a slight frown on his features, “While I appreciate your offer, you should know I will likely not be free in your lifetime, Anthony. It will only ever be my image in your tower.” 

“It’s still you though right?” Tony asked, lifting his hand to waft it experimentally through Loki’s holographic face.  

Loki just looked at him flatly as the hand passed through his irritated expression a couple of times. “It’s still me,” he said, with that specific brand of exasperation could only be the real Loki.  

Tony lowered his hand, and exhaled, tilting his head at Loki, “There's not a long list of people that I consider a friend. Two of them came pretty close to dying recently. As much as I enjoyed you being physically present, I’m not about to let something as inconsequential as having a corporeal form mean I lose another.” 

A rare soft, genuine smile emerged on Loki’s lips, “You’re a complicated mortal, Anthony Stark.” 

“I told you, you’d never met anyone like me,” Tony clicked his tongue and winked then held up a finger as something occurred to him, “Oh, we are going to have to figure something out though,” he spoke wagging his hand through the air, as he rolled his eyes, “There’s not quite as much privacy at the tower since it’s been adopted as the Avengers Tower or whatever, so we’re going have to sort out maybe a warning system or, maybe appointments? But that feels a little formal...We’d have to do a little more investigation into time dilation between realms. I know we were starting to get to grips with it before but I imagine that research is at the bottom of the ocean now.” Tony walked as he continued to talk, meandering around the remains of his home. “But we can sort that out while I find what I actually came here for. You seen Dum-E or U around here while you’ve been moping about?” 

Loki watched Tony’s movements with a slightly arched, amused eyebrow, his smile maintained even as Tony turned away to glance around the ruin. There was an atmosphere of hope between them. Things weren’t quite back to where they were before New York, but Loki was here, he seemed content enough now to speak, to Tony at least. Maybe in the future, Tony could convince the others to listen too. In the meantime, Tony was happy to just spend some time to talk with perhaps the only person in all the ‘Nine Realms’ who might be able to help him reason through what he’d seen beyond that portal. Without the fear of the city falling down around them, without the pressure of Tony’s potential death hanging over them. Maybe even one day get back to how they had been before all that.  

Even if it was a just magical image of him, he had his Loki back.  


	9. Chapter 9

“Ok, one more time, the cliff notes,” Tony said, while attempting to rub some of the tiredness from his eyes with this thumb and forefinger.  

He wasn’t sure exactly what time it was but the sun had set a while ago, leaving the glow of New York city to shine in through the window wall of the Penthouse, highlighting everything with a dull orange glow. Well, everything except the illusion of Loki. He’d come to realize that it didn't really seem to follow the lighting scheme of Earth. It would make sense if Loki was simply projecting a copy of himself then it would show the light of  _his_  world, not Tony's. 

“Do you need some rest?” Loki asked, a way off in front of him, “We can continue at a later date.” 

Loki’s illusory copy was indiscernible from the real deal in its reflection of him, mimicking everything perfectly, right down to the details of the soft waves of his hair. If he was stood still, it’d be a fair assumption that the actual Loki was in Tony’s Penthouse. Though that would be quickly dismissed if Loki were to move. Since it was just an image, it had a jarring habit of not interacting with anything in Tony’s world, to the point that was like living with a HD ghost. He would pass through furniture and sometimes walls like they weren’t there, but would perch in the air a couple of the feet above the ground as though sitting on something invisible. Well, invisible to Tony, though Loki assured him they were quite real, if a million light years away.

The other ghostly trait it shared was its silence. Loki would appear in the room without warning, without making a sound. Blink and you’d miss it. In fact, in the few times he’d appeared, Tony had come to realize that he was always completely silent, except for when he spoke. Perhaps the sound was a projection also. From where he appeared, Loki could move around but only within the limits of his physical cell on Asgard. It didn't really seem to be a problem though. It he needed to move further, he would simply flicker out of existence and reappear a few feet away with a renewed radius.  

Currently, Loki was sat on thin air, legs crossed, reclining slightly against some invisible rest, watching him with a hint of concern. 

Tony shook his head, half to dismiss his concerns, half to try to shake the drowsiness that had been creeping up on him for a while, “Nope I’m fine. Meeting Fury in probably six hours, I need to get this down. Besides there’s not a whole lot waiting for me in sleep that I wanna tackle so c’mon, again.” 

Loki gave him an evaluative once over, but Tony just raised his eyebrows eagerly, attempting to head off the comment at the pass. It apparently worked because Loki gave a sigh and swayed to his feet from whatever invisible thing he had been sat on, “Very well, but you will be no use to anyone if you don’t sleep soon. We've been at this for hours already and I hate to think how long you have been awake for before that.” 

As he stood he lifted one hand and began to make a series of small, intricate motions that Tony was starting to become familiar with. In response, six points in the air between them began to glow as the dull orange light around them seemed to coalesce and shift along the spectrum into six growing dots of distinct color.  

“Gimme a break,” Tony muttered, suppressing a yawn, “Us mortals don't get to learn the secrets of the universe in grade school like you. We only got a crash course in extra-terrestrials a couple of months ago and it wasn’t the greatest lesson we’ve had to learn.” 

Loki’s eyes ticked away from the set of colors forming between them as they took shape but didn’t say anything. Tony only realized what he’d said a second later. 

 They’d yet to have that talk. The one about what the hell had happened to Loki to turn him from annoying prankster to global dominator in the space of a few weeks. Loki had done everything in his power to avoid it since coming here, happy to talk about anything but his family, and his mystery sabbatical. This was the third time he’d appeared in the Penthouse after their Malibu Point reunion and it had taken him this long to be ready to talk about why Earth was attacked, and that was only because Tony pointed out that Earth was probably still in danger. Since Tony was keen for these visits to continue, he had only gently probed about what was likely going to be a very difficult conversation, for the both of them. But he was going to continue probing, because he saw the flash of pain in Loki’s eyes whenever the subject was mentioned. And it hurt.  

Whatever had happened to him had done damage, deep, long-lasting damage. It had changed him. He was guarded now, choosing all his words with careful, deliberate thought. There was no outward anger about what had happened to him as there had been when Tony had confronted him at the Battle, instead just gentle simmering malice in his voice on the rare occasion his guard lowered enough for him to slip briefly onto the wrong subject. It was always fleeting. The old Loki was still there though, seen in the odd half smile or amused jibe, but it was always cautious, probing out from the layers of protective armor Loki must have survived under in their time apart.  

Tony could only do his best to help him realize that here, at least, there was no need to keep the armor on.  

“Then we will limit it to what the children learn,” Loki said with a smirk that immediately masked that brief glimpse of reaction to the mention of the Battle. He finished his hand movements and between them now floated a set of six colorful glass pebbles that spun in a slow circle. Tony watched them, taking a moment to force himself to concentrate. He needed to know this.  

Loki waited until he was certain Tony was listening to begin, “Very simply put, the Infinity Stones are relics of the creation of the universe and hold the ability to control its key forces. Time, Power, Mind, Soul, Space, and Reality.” As he spoke, each of the stones flashed in reaction to its name. Green, purple, yellow, orange, blue, and red. “Once their existence became clear millennia ago, they were deliberately scattered across the vast expanse of the universe, for if one person were to control them, they would be omnipotent.” 

“But only in that short window before the combined power of the stones killed them, right?” Tony folded one arm across his chest and used it to cradle his other elbow that rested against his chin as he watched the illusions. His eyes ticked along the set of stones as they crossed in front of him.   

“Correct,” Loki nodded, “Unfortunately, Thanos is of one of the few races who could likely survive.” 

“And he’s a...Titan,” Tony ventured a guess at the species name he was sure Loki had mentioned earlier. When Loki nodded, he continued, “Who else could survive it? Just out of interest.” 

“Not you, I’m afraid,” Loki told him with a small knowing smile, taking an educated guess at why Tony was asking. 

“I didn’t mean me,” Tony said, truthfully, wafting the fairly accurate assumption away with one hand, “Could you?” 

Loki thought about it for a moment and then said, “I have no idea and less intention of finding out. Omnipotence does not interest me enough to gamble my life on it.” 

Tony paused. Given that Loki was a being who had apparently spent the majority of his adult centuries wandering the universe at random, likely finding all sorts of strange and powerful things on his travels, the fact he balked at these things was enough to make Tony do the same. He swallowed and then asked, “So what does Thanos want with them?” 

"He has some grand plan to ‘save’ what he sees as a flawed universe. Having seen what he does to conquered planets, I suspect he doesn’t quite understand the meaning of the word...” Loki was watching the stones spin with a mask of neutrality, that same thousand-yard stare he always took on when he was talking about his former captor.  

“Got it, another mad man with a god-complex,” Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes again, deciding it was best not to press that particular issue.  

“He is no god,” Loki said quickly, as though offended that Tony had used such a word to describe him, “Not yet at least. While he is a force to contend with he would not defeat a powerful realm such as Asgard, for example. If they cared to, there may be realms who could end him if they acted quickly.” 

Tony watched the stones spin as he digested what was being said, then rubbed his hand across his beard, doing his best to suppress that note of fear in his gut, not just at the whole Infinity Stone scenario, but at simple concept of ‘powerful realms’. Of which he knew about exactly one. His foot tapped a little as he spoke, “Where are they?” 

In response, Loki flicked his long fingers and the blue pebble, the Space Stone, lifted out of its place in the circle and morphed into a familiar cube, "You have already seen one."

“The Tesseract?” Tony asked quietly.  

Loki nodded, regarding the cube idly, “With the fortune of hindsight, I suspect it was the reason I was sent to Midgard in the first place. The domination of Earth was merely a secondary objective.” 

Tony hesitated. It was the closest Loki had come to even mentioning the Battle of New York. For a moment he debated pressing him further, but the moment went as quickly as it came. Now was not the time. He'd get there eventually.  

“And that is under the protection of the Norse God Squad right?” Tony asked instead. 

“I presume so, along with the Reality Stone that they took from the Dark Elves a thousand years ago and hid somewhere. Though naturally they haven’t been keen on sharing with me the precise details of its location. I can't imagine why,” Loki said sarcastically, then shrugged, “Those are the ones I know for certain. As for the others, the last I heard, Thanos had employed a Kree to hunt down the Power Stone, and his daughter the Soul Stone. There was no word on either before I took my leave.” 

“Kree is another alien race?” Tony guessed.  

“Yes, and quite a powerful one, similar to humans in some ways but technologically and physically superior in almost every other.” 

“No offense taken...” Tony muttered.  

Loki smirked and that old teasing self showed through just a little, “You should think about curbing your ego if you wish to help your realm expand beyond this planet one day, Anthony.”  

“You looked in the mirror recently?” Tony quipped, hoping to encourage him. 

“I have no need to, I can look into yours, from an entirely separate dimension,” he paused and rose a challenging eyebrow, “Can you say the same?” 

“Alright point taken, Dumbledore,” Tony grumbled, though not exactly annoyed. It was a rare reflection of what the two had once been. He gestured back to the stones, “What about the other two?” 

At the question, Loki’s small smile faded, taking the fragile atmosphere of hope with it, “I don’t know, though I fear Thanos already has the Mind Stone. I don’t think that anything else could be used to create the Scepter...” he trailed off then paused for a moment, and then asked, “Is it safe?” 

“SHIELD have it,” Tony told him, then wobbled his head a little when Loki looked blankly at him, “It’s with the government. I’m not even allowed to  _look_  at it.” 

“Don’t be so disappointed, Anthony, I would recommend being as far away from it as possible,” Loki said solemnly, “If it is a product of the Mind Stone as I fear then it may still be exerting Thanos’s influence. Speaking logically, it would probably be for the best if it were destroyed.” Tony met his gaze for a second and Loki chuckled to himself, instantly reading Tony’s intentions. It was a soft, wonderful sound, “But you’re not going let that happen without a fight are you?” 

“What kind of scientist would I be if I  _didn’t_  fiddle around with the dangerous magic wand that nearly caused the destruction of the city,” Tony explained with a shrug enjoying the amusement on Loki's face, “And if I remember rightly, it was you who was affected more than me.” 

Loki’s smile died and the atmosphere shifted instantly. He narrowed his eyes almost imperceptibly at him, silently daring Tony to say anything more. It was only then that Tony realized the boundary he had accidentally overstepped as he’d been carried away by Loki’s growing comfort. That was gone now.  

Tony took a breath and took a gamble, “I wanna talk to you about it sooner or later, Lokes.” 

He saw a muscle in Loki’s jaw tense, “Why?” 

“Why?” Tony parroted incredulously, frowning at him, “Because I can see how much it's hurting you and I wanna help.” 

“Help me?” Loki chuckled, but this was his new chuckle, that dark chuckle that held a vague yet menacing threat. 

“Yeah, help you,” Tony said with a carefully controlled tone. For whatever reason, the confidence in his voice was surprising enough to Loki to wipe that dark smirk off his face. Mild confusion slowly began to replace it. Tony continued, bolstered by the response, “Because you're my friend, Lokes. And I wanna know you're alright.” 

Loki held his gaze a moment searching it for something, trying to read his intentions, then looked to the floor, thinking.  

Tony sighed and took a couple of steps closer, so that the illusory stones weren’t between them anymore, “Look, I don't know what you've been through, but I've been to hell a few times now. And it probably pales in comparison to whatever an alien warlord with the universal power to manipulate minds in at his finger tips, but it's been hard. So hard. The only reason I'm still sane is because of Pepper and Rhodey and Happy, and I guess to an extent the Avengers. And you, of course.” Loki's gaze ticked back to him uncertainly at his mention. “I still have that support network, it is sometimes  _irritatingly_ keen to try and help me. Something tells me you don’t have that. Or least you don’t think you do. I just want you to know you're not alone as you think you are.” 

A tense silence stretched out between them. Tony held it. He'd said his piece. It wasn't exactly how he'd wanted to broach the subject, but he'd come to the conclusion there would probably never be another opportunity and the longer he left Loki alone in this, the worse he would be.

After several, long seconds, Loki took a deep breath and lifted his chin, that guarded mask firmly in place as he met Tony’s gaze. He regarded Tony for a moment before he said, “I think perhaps it would be for the best if I were.” 

With that, his image flickered and all at once, the illusions disappeared. The dark orange glow flooded in to replace the magical light, leaving Tony alone in the dimly lit room.  

Tony screwed his eyes his eyes shut. “Shit…” 

 


	10. Chapter 10

The dungeons of Asgard were far...duller than Loki had expected.  

As a child he’d heard horror stories of what it was like in the bowels of the palace. As an adult he’d learnt that those horror stories were not entirely fabricated to keep children in check.  

Given the admitted severity of his crimes, both on Asgard and on Midgard, he had expected to be taken to those depths where the horror stories were true. Instead, he found himself being kept among what appeared to be prisoners of war, with adjacent and opposite cells occupied by placid beings of various races of the Nine Realms returned to Asgard as part of the campaign of ‘pacification’ he had learned was ongoing now that the Bifrost was almost repaired. They were really rather boring, though he did garner some amusement from the obvious fear in their eyes at seeing that the former Prince of Asgard was to be their prison-mate. Even if his story had not spread across the universe, a Realm renowned sorcerer was likely not who they expected to see eyeing them from across the dungeon, a small, weighted smirk on his face.  

His presence here was no doubt Frigga’s doing. Odin had already told him that he owed her his life, so it was not a great leap of logic to assume that she had fought to bring him a measure of comfort for his indefinite imprisonment. She had also had books brought to him in a regular stream to keep him occupied, something for which he was quietly grateful. There had been long, boring hours of nothing in between his quick visits to Stark Tower. But in the time since his last conversation with Anthony, he had lost the will to read them. His thoughts too muddled to be able to concentrate. 

“Who is it you talk to?” Frigga asked gently from somewhere behind him, breaking the silence that had been growing between them.  

She had come here to check on him, something she had insisted on doing regularly since his the beginning of his imprisonment. Though he never told her, he appreciated her presence, especially now that he had retreated from Stark Tower. This time when she had arrived to find him staring out into the corridor of the dungeon, she seemed naturally concerned. Loki gave her tired, hollow assurances that didn’t seem allay her concerns. It did not escape Loki’s notice that her gentle probing did not elicit that same wave of anger and fear that had broken over him as Anthony had expressed his own concerns, but what to do with that information he didn't know.  

“Where do you go?” Frigga asked further. 

Loki scoffed as he watched a fresh set of prisoners be led through the corridor outside the glass wall of his cell, shoulders straight, hands folded behind his back. At least down here, he could continue to present some form of authority. He didn’t turn as he asked, “Why? Am I to be magically confined now as well?” 

Frigga was one of the few who knew him well enough not to rise to the venom in his words, “I ask merely as a concerned mother, Loki, as I only ever have, and ever will.” 

Loki kept his eyes on the new prisoners as they were moved swiftly past his cell, if only to hide the unbidden tightness to his expression that came at the word mother. She was not his mother. Not truly. But they had already had that fight and still Frigga stubbornly continued the charade. Loki told himself that he did not care to waste the energy continuing to argue, but truly, it was the soft sadness that flashed in her eyes as he denied her that kept him from bringing it up again.  

When he didn’t respond, Frigga continued, “You have not left in a while.” There was a soft question in her words. 

Loki finally turned slightly to look at her, wearing his usual smirking mask, “Well, Odin continues to bring me new friends to play with, how could I bear to be away from this place for too long?” 

Frigga maintained eye contact seeing straight through him, as she had always been able to. Her lips quirked into a warm, almost amused smile, “You cannot lie to me, my son. Everyone else, even yourself, but not to me,” she paused and regarded him with a softness that made Loki’s mask slip a little, “You’ve found someone you care for, haven’t you?” 

Loki fought the urge to react, to deny immediately, though he felt his eyes twitch. But he knew his silence had been enough of an answer to the woman who had taught him almost all he knew of subterfuge.  

“And despite the regular expeditions that you once undertook, you now stand and stare into the darkness,” Frigga said, sadly.  

Loki blinked and cast his gaze to the floor, silent.  

Learning the truth of his own origins had lowered a haze of anger and betrayal over his thoughts so thick it had blinded him to everything he had once cared for. Frigga, the mother who had raised him, cared for him, given him the gift the arcane power that had let him keep up with the warriors he was being raised amongst, had been reduced down to nothing more than the woman who had been complicit in his captivity. But now, as she stood in his cell, still caring for him, still concerned for his welfare, he was starting to see her for his mother  once again. That haze was beginning to clear.  

After a while, he exhaled, allowing some of the false authority to fall from his shoulders, “He has made it clear he has intentions to learn my past.” 

“How uncharacteristically humble of you,” Frigga seemed amused, “He does not know the story of Loki, Lost Prince of Asgard?” 

“He knows some,” Loki told her, not sharing in her mirth, instead turning to gaze out of the cell again in an attempt to feign some measure of disinterest, “He is Midgardian, he fought alongside Thor to repel the Chitauri. He does not know of my brief rule of Asgard...nor how it ended. I fear he would not understand.” 

“Understand what, Loki?” 

Loki paused, considering whether to speak further or not. He had circled around this in his own mind almost constantly since he had refrained from returning to Stark’s Tower, eventually spiraling into a fruitless ouroboros of thought. Perhaps by speaking it aloud, the train of thought could began to progress, allowing it to eventually end. The remaining issue was that if he gave voice to emotions battling inside him, he would no longer be able to truly deny them.  

He cleared his throat and spoke, keeping his back to her, “What I did here is no less than what Odin, and even Thor have attempted in the past. They might even understand my actions if they tried, though my motives may be a little too complex for them to grasp. They are warriors largely because they enjoy war. The Midgardians can be just as violent as any other race but the mortal I know is not like them. Not him. He is different, a warrior who detests war. He fights only to end it. He does not claim to have the authority to weigh one life against another to determine which has the greater value. To him, life  _is_  the value. I could only see value in death,” he paused as the weight of his own realization began to hang heavy in his heart, “And now, after the Battle for his world, he is the hope of his realm personified while I am its fear. It is kinder not to force him to confront the reality of me.” 

Frigga was quiet for a contemplative moment before saying, “...You could not stand to see him turn his back on you, so you turned your back on him first.”  

Loki turned to look at her, caught off guard by the ease with which she had taken everything from his maelstrom of thoughts and summarized so accurately in just a few words. 

She tilted her head a little and gave an empathetic smile, “Have you considered that if you care for him, sharing the truth of your history should be more important than trying to defend him from something he has not been allowed to know?” Frigga asked with a tone that suggested that it was very much a rhetorical question. She rose a single knowing eyebrow at Loki’s blank expression. 

Loki frowned at her, “What do you mean?” 

“My son, you are so perceptive, so intelligent, it would never occur to you that your assessment may be flawed…” Frigga said with quiet amusement, her smile giving a measure of comfort that Loki had not realized he had missed so much. “It must be a rare mortal indeed to garner the interest of Loki. Do not be so eager to refute him. What if he does not turn his back?” 

Loki narrowed his eyes slightly. In some of his rare, optimistic moments he had considered it, but it was a line of thought that quickly veered downhill on its inevitable trajectory. The bitter thought immediately soured the atmosphere. “What difference would it make? I'm still trapped in this box at Odin’s whim. Even if he didn’t turn his back, sooner or later he will be lost to me. Why delay the inevitable?”  

“We may be long-lived, but that does not mean that loneliness is harder to come by,” she let the sentiment hang in the air for a moment and then glanced off to the side, seeing something in her reality that Loki could not, “I must go, my son. Think on what I have said.” She held his gaze and extended a hand palm up in their own, private gesture of farewell.  

Loki eyed it for a long moment and then lifted his own and passed it through hers without a word, watching as the image burned away in a trail of green light.  

His gaze lingered on the spot where she had just stood, the cell suddenly closing in around him as though her presence had pressed the walls away from him just a little.  

Although a little too sentimental for Loki’s taste, Frigga had been right. She was always right. If nothing else, after everything Loki had put him through, Anthony at least deserved the truth. After that, he could make his own choice, even if Loki suspected he had already accurately predicted the outcome. Maybe hearing it from the man himself would be enough for him to put the whole matter to bed and he could move on.  

There was no time like the present, so Loki crossed to the low bed he had in the cell and took a seat.  

He crossed his legs underneath him and took a second to find a comfortable position. Once he was settled, he lifted his hand and reached out for the arcane threads that tied together all of time and space as his mother had taught him countless years ago. Closing his eyes, he plucked the ones he needed from their places and looped them around his fingers. There was a comfort in their familiarity. He had neglected them for a few days now and it felt reassuring to know he had not lost touch with their power. Once he had them, closed his eyes, took a breath and pulled on them.  

His stomach flipped as though he was falling. The bed remained resolutely beneath him but his consciousness moved at imperceptibly fast speed. He’d learnt at a young age, not to try to keep his eyes open as it did. Interdimensional projection of the mind was a nauseating enough process to experience, without trying to watch it happen.  

The feeling of moving came and went in less than a second. Loki held still a moment and waited for the brief nausea to pass before slowly uncurling his fingers and releasing the strands of power from his fingertips. Then he opened his eyes.  

Seeing through an image was always a little difficult to adjust to. It was like watching a semi-translucent screen, with the reality of his dungeon cell, overlaid by the spacious, sunlit room of Anthony’s Tower. Generally, the image’s view was sharp enough to take the priority of his vision, but he could still see vague shapes and movement in his actual vicinity. Despite being contained in one of the most secure locations in the Nine Realms, it was never safe to be completely blind to one’s surroundings.  

He and Anthony had managed discern the relationship of the passage of time between their two realms, allowing Loki keep track of Midgardian time while in Asgard. It had let them keep to a fairly regular schedule of visits. But Loki had broken their schedule a little while ago, and almost deliberately out of spite he had lost track of Midgardian time. There was no way of knowing what time he would find himself in on the other side. 

Luckily, Anthony’s home sat empty and quiet before his image’s eyes. It was not unexpected given that Anthony had once told him that he spent relatively little time here aside from their meetings. Before Loki did anything else, he glanced down at himself. It was a little hard to tell at first but his image was invisible. Since the only way to try to catch Anthony was to simply sit wait for him to return, he thought it best do so in a way that meant he could not be seen unless he wanted to be seen. It would not do Anthony’s reputation much good if someone were to find Loki sitting in his home. 

With a soft exhale, Loki reclined against the wall behind him, and settled in.  

There was no way of tracking the passage of time other than watching the slow dip of the sun toward the horizon. As he sat and watched the lit move from pure white to deep gold, to burnt orange, he couldn’t help but notice how much he had missed sunlight in his brief departure from it. 

The sound of a conversation somewhere in Anthony’s home pulled him from his thoughts.  

He had brought his image into existence in the far corner of the room, so that he could see both the main entrances that Anthony typically used. The landing area for his suit, and the sliding metal doors to the elevator he used when unarmored. The voices could be heard from beyond the set of sliding doors. It was Anthony talking, but it was hard to tell what he was saying until the sliding doors opened and the man himself strode out of it, mid-sentence. Just the sight of him was enough to bring a small smile to Loki’s face.  

“-had this conversation, Rogers,” he was saying as he walked. He sounded exasperated, bordering on irritated. So much so that he only made it a few strides into the room before he stopped and span to face ‘Rogers’, “I know what he’s done, I was there too, remember? I was the one who saved your ass from him in Germany.” 

Germany? The word sounded familiar but it was not until he saw the second man follow Anthony into the room that its meaning was realized.  

Captain Rogers was obviously a man who was rarely allowed emotion to enter his features. Perpetually calm and self-assured, and for good reason. If Loki was remembering their encounter correctly, he had the makings of a formidable opponent but he had the disadvantage of facing an opponent from another realm. Anthony was right, if he hadn’t arrived when he did, things would not have ended well for the Soldier. Loki would have smirked at the knowledge of his superiority, were it not for the soft hum of trepidation that came naturally at being unknowingly present for a conversation about oneself.  

Captain Rogers levelled his gaze at Anthony, not reacting to the man’s energy, “What about what Thor told us?” 

Dread washed through Loki so fast it made his face tingle. Of course, he should have known Thor would have been all too ready to throw him to wolves to ally with the Avengers. It was too late to explain himself to Anthony, the man already had all his answers. Loki slumped back against the wall of his cell, cast his eyes down, and readied himself for hearing what Anthony truly thought of him.  

Anthony sighed. He was facing away from where Loki's image was position, but Loki could see him lift a hand and rub his face, “I know what Thor told us about Asgard, but he also told us he was on Earth for most of it. We don’t know what really happened.” 

Loki blinked in surprise.  

“You’re defending him?” Rogers asked, the same question that Loki was thinking, sounding equally confused.  

Anthony shrugged and turned away from the Captain, now facing Loki, not that the man knew it, moving a little further into the room. “Everything is a shade of grey, Rogers. Stark Industries has done some shady stuff in the past, you know that first hand. It was our questionable human experimentation that created you in the first place. And I've not kept my hands clean by any sense of the imagination. I led the R&D department, R&D-ing more efficient ways to kill people and, mind you, I didn’t have any sort of mental breakdown that made me think it was good idea. Which is what I suspect might have happened to Loki. My only excuse was that it was profitable. Simple as. There’s a bit too much glass in my house to start throwing stones.” 

Captain Rogers’ expression didn’t shift, “That’s different.” 

Anthony scoffed, and turned back to him, clearly getting increasingly agitated, “How is it? I designed and built weapons of mass destruction. I don’t know how people keep forgetting that just because made a suit out of one of them and used it to fight crime. In fact, most of what I've been doing is cleaning up my own messes anyway,” he paused and took a breath to calm himself, shoving his hands in his pockets in an attempt to control them, “I’m not saying he’s all sunshine and rainbows, hell, I don’t think he’d be worth knowing if he was. But I don’t think he’s as dangerous as everyone says. Not to us anyway.” 

“He tried to destroy one realm and take over another,” Rogers told him as though he didn't know. It was an understandable point, Loki thought to himself.  

“And he’s paying for it,” Anthony answered, quickly cutting off the Captain with enough force to create a brief moment of silence before Anthony pulled one apparently uncontainable hand from his pocket and continued his rapid gestures “Look, he’s in prison and will be for longer than either of us will be alive. He’s not a threat anymore. Neutralized and locked away. How is he a danger? All he’s got left is good behavior. He wants to help.” 

Rogers regarded him silently, and Anthony held his gaze, defiantly, until the Captain said, “I want to meet him.” 

Anthony blinked and scowled, “I’m sorry, you wanna what now?” 

“You heard me,” Rogers replied simply, “He’s where you got all that information about the Infinity Stones right?” 

“You think I’d lie about what he told me.” 

“I want to make sure that the God of  _Mischief_  isn’t trying to trick you,” Rogers corrected. 

Anthony gave a breathy chuckle, shaking his head, “Even if I thought he would  _want_ to talk to you, it’s not like I can just set up a meeting,” Anthony shrugged as though it was completely out of control but his expression didn’t display any sort of apology for it. “We used to have a semi-regular interdimensional teleconference every other day or so, but he’s not been checking in. He always reached out to me. It’s one-way only, no voicemail and no reverse charge. Unless you happen to have a hotline to Asgard in your lycra pants I don't know about.” 

Rogers scowled, “Has something happened?” 

Anthony clicked his tongue, “I dunno. He’s always been a cagey guy but since New York he's been...I guess delicate for lack of a better word?” he trailed off and glanced around the room a moment, collecting his thoughts, then sniffed, “I tried to get him to talk about what happened. But he clammed up and bolted. My fault, I should've known better.” 

“You think he’d even tell you the truth if he talked about it?”  

“Honestly, Cap, probably not, but I needed to try to get him at least talking around it,” Anthony stated, suddenly guarded, his movements lessened, “I hate to get all mushy about the guy but I can’t help but feel a little bit of a kinship with a fellow torture victim.” 

“If that’s actually what happened.” 

“Oh, it happened,” Anthony stated with such confidence that the Captain didn’t seem to dare argue. Anthony hesitated before saying quietly, “Trust me, Cap, I know what it looks like.” 

The Captain seemed lost for words. He held Anthony’s gaze for a while and then nodded, “Alright, well...if you see him again, I’d like to know.” 

Anthony nodded silently, though he looked like his thoughts had drifted away from the conversation. Rogers turned and disappeared into the elevator without another word.  

Loki watched Anthony as the man exhaled and his shoulders slumped a little, a new appreciation for his mortal tensing his stomach. Frigga had been right.  

He lifted a hand to hook the strand he needed around his fingers and flexed it, flickering his image into existence. 

Anthony was still facing the elevator as he did so.  

“I owe you an apology.” 

At the sound of his voice, Anthony gave a wordless yell and practically jumped in his about face, fists raised reactively. They lowered quickly enough at realization of the source of the sound and he exhaled audibly, clutching one hand to his chest, “Good god...” 

Loki chuckled to himself at the reaction that was among the more extreme of those Anthony had had to his sudden arrival, “God is a very formal term, I thought we were beyond that.” 

“Jesus Christ, Lokes,” Anthony said breathlessly, “We’re gonna have to get you a bell or something.” 

Loki grinned, feeling lighter than he had in a long time. 

Anthony gave one final exhale then frowned at him suddenly, “What’re you doing here? I assumed you’d clocked out for the foreseeable.” 

“And miss another opportunity to hear you call me god?” Loki cocked his head a little, “I could never.” 

There was a twitch at the corner of Anthony’s mouth as the man suppressed a smile, something he was in the habit of doing to try to prevent Loki from scoring a point in the unspoken game played between them, “Well you might be waiting a while. You said you owed me an apology, must be a strange feeling for you. What are you sorry for?” 

Loki hesitated, considering what to say. He wanted to get these words right. Once he had them, he swallowed, suddenly nervous, “For keeping the truth from you. Though it sounds as though you already know the key details.” 

“You heard that conversation?” Anthony asked, scowling, as he took a couple of steps closer, looking as though he bordered dangerously on annoyance, “Have you been spying on me?” 

“Nothing of the sort, at least not intentionally,” Loki assured him, “I was waiting to see you, but I thought it for the best not to reveal myself to Captain Rogers unannounced, even if he would like a meeting.” 

“Yeah he wants a lot of things...” Anthony muttered, weighted by some undisclosed history, but it was clear that Anthony wasn’t annoyed at him, thankfully. He held Loki’s gaze for a moment, “Does that mean you’re ready for that talk?” 

“You may not like what you hear,” Loki told him, solemnly.  

Anthony smirked, “Try me.” 

Loki eyed him cautiously but couldn’t help but mirror the man’s infectious smile.  

When he was last here, Loki’s still simmering anger and the shame of having to face Anthony’s disdain would have blinded him to the teasing challenge in Anthony’s words that the man used as a form of affection. He would have seen it merely as an insult. A threat almost. But he now knew that was just fed by his residual paranoia and fear.  

Those feelings were still there, whispering darkness to him, questioning those things he was beginning trust again. It would take more than a simple expression of loyalty to silence them, but they had been muffled somewhat, partially nulled by the bright light that was his Mortal. He didn’t have to fight here. There were no accusations or assumptions to defend himself against. His mortal was on his side. As he always had been. There was nothing that those whispers could tell him that shake his belief Anthony Stark now.  

Loki paused a moment. Took a breath. And trusted his brilliant Mortal.  


	11. Chapter 11

Loki had been right about Tony not liking what he was about to hear, but it wasn‘t for the reasons he’d been worried about.

Tony had heard the story once already, sort of. In his brief time with them, Thor had told them of Loki,the jealous pretender to the Asgardian throne who banished his brother and tried to destroy a realm. On the surface, it wouldn’t have been hard to buy the story cut and dry given what Loki was getting up to during their Asgardian storytime. But Tony had never been a cut and dry kind of guy. As he’d told Cap just a couple of hours ago, Tony didn’t disbelieve Thor, they weren't out of Loki's admittedly wide realm of possibility. But at the same time, he knew it could only be one version of events. In the few times, they’d spoken about it, Loki had been, at most, mildly irked by Thor’s coronation, certainly not murderously enraged. As seemed to be an emerging theme where Loki was involved, there had to be a missing link somewhere.

Naturally, Loki's version was bound to be just as skewed and subjective as Thor’s had been but honestly, Tony was just pleased he might be able to find his missing piece. Even if he didn't, the small miracle of Loki telling him anything about what happened to him did not go unappreciated. He had thought that the significant milestone in their returning relationship would be enough to help buffer whatever it was that Loki was about to tell him. That is until he heard the story.

Loki hadn't moved from the point he'd appeared in since he'd first announced himself. He was sat forward on whatever thing he sat on so resting his arms on his thighs, his gaze was lowered, ticking up only occasionally to read Tony’s expression before looking away again when he reconsidered wanting to see the reaction. When he began to speak, it was with confidence, as though what he was talking about didn’t bother him, but the façade didn't last for long.

Loki was truth adverse at the best of times, and an outright liar at worst, a good one when he wanted to be. But Tony had learnt how to spot it. When Loki lied, he did it with ease. Not always ease in his voice, he could edit his voice to sound however he wanted, a by-product of being a sorcerer Tony supposed. But he hadn't quite grasped the body language. He'd always be a little too relaxed no matter the lie he was trying to tell, as though lying somehow felt more comfortable for him.

As he recounted his version of events though, there was nothing relaxed about him.

 And his version of events was dark. Real dark. Mythically dark.

Howard may have been a crappy dad but at least he hadn't picked up Tony off the floor of some country he was in the middle of conquering and then pretend like he hadn't killed hundreds of his people in the process. Of course, Tony couldn’t justify what the guy had tried to do after finding out, but that didn't stop him from wondering how thing could’ve been different for him.

It was well into the night by the time he finished. Loki had set up well away from any of Tony's furniture but Tony had found himself needing to sit down. By the end, he was perched on one of the steps that divided the lower and upper parts of the Penthouse. However hard it was to hear what Loki had gone through and done as a result, it must have been torture to tell it. Hell, Tony was only just getting to grips with telling his own mess of a life to a medially qualified therapist in a cushy office downtown, and receiving actual, useful advice. Loki was sat functionally alone in a jail cell, retelling his life to arguably the most woefully ill-equipped being the Nine Realms to try and help him. All Tony could do was listen intently, interrupting only to ask for the definitions of words like Jotun, the Destroyer, and Winter Casket, but even those interruptions stopped in the end. It didn't matter.

Tony felt helpless, he’d never been very good with this kind of thing. His only instinct was to reach out somehow, hold his hand. Just hold him. Try and show him that he was not the monster that he clearly believed himself to be. But he couldn't. This wasn’t a problem he could solve. He couldn’t fix it, couldn’t engineer a solution in his basement, couldn't don a suit and fire a bunch of missiles at it. He couldn’t even offer the guy a drink or give him a hug. It was a crappy feeling.

When Loki was finally done, silence stretched out between them as Tony found himself literally speechless.

After a second or two, Loki anxiously bounced his leg a little and sat up, taking a deep inhale, finally actually looking at Tony, “I appreciate it is a lot to take in…But will you please stop just staring at me like a fool and say something?” there was a unspoken plea in his jibe.

Tony shook his head a little, trying to clear his thoughts. He'd be no help if he couldn't put two words together, “Lokes..ah, I don’t say this very often, but honestly…I got nothing.”

A tight, humorless smile stretched Loki’s lips, “Wow…I didn’t believe such a thing to be possible. I'm glad some small victory has come of my life.”

“I’d say welcome to Team Crappy Dad but I don’t think that even comes close to cutting it,” Tony said, forcing levity into his words. If he couldn't solve it or blow it up, Tony moved on to minimize and distract tactics. His specialty. “Plus it's not like someone admits to attempted genocide very often.”

“You deserved to know the truth,” that tight smile was swallowed back and Loki looked away again, shame clear in his face, “It was the least I could do before I took my final leave. I will keep my distance from now on.”

Tony pursed his lips, in thought, letting the comment hang in the air between them as he reached into the inner pocket of his suit jacket and plucked a pen from it. Without a word, he flicked in Loki's direction. Loki frowned as it passed through his chest with a flash of that green light, landing behind him with a quiet clatter.

Tony rose an eyebrow at him, pointedly, “There’s a lot of distance between us already don'tcha think? Some might say too much.”

Loki continued to frown at him with an uncertain suspicion.

Tony sighed as the point he was trying to make went sailing over Loki's head and landed somewhere near the pen, “Look, what you’ve been through, I honestly couldn’t imagine what it felt like to find that out, especially like that-”

“That doesn’t excuse what I did,” Loki interrupted.

“You’re right, it doesn’t,” Tony agreed, “But the fact you’re admitting that? Well it’s a big positive. It’s remorse. Plus, you’ve told me about Thanos and the rocks that rule the universe. You’re working the right direction.”

“I tried to bring Thanos to your world.”

Tony couldn’t help roll his eyes, “You keep doing that. Talking to me like I don’t know what happened, as if I didn’t nearly die in the void of space to stop it. I know what you did Loki and I already told you I don’t blame you for it. I stood basically where you are now and I told you. And I've not changed my mind. Especially now I know how you wound up with him. So, stop trying to find somewhere to wallow? Doesn’t help anything.”

Loki’s expression relaxed out of the frown as he considered Tony’s words carefully. After a moment, he opened his mouth to speak but Tony interrupted first.

“If you’re about to list something else awful you think I need to know about I swear to god.”

Loki closed his mouth and actually looked briefly chastised.

Tony exhaled and got to his feet, looking to the ground thoughtfully as he stood,“You never let me get to my point and now I can't remember how was I going to phrase it …” he screwed his eyes shut rubbed the bridge of his nose for a moment then threw his hands up in defeat, “You know why I like you Lokes?”

“It is actually one of the few mysteries of the universe I've yet to solve.”

“Because you’re not just black or white,” Tony told him, earnestly, meeting his cautious gaze, silently please to see the hint of hope in them, “I thought I was a fair shade of grey, but you’re not even on the spectrum. And all this?” he gestured vaguely around Loki, “That’s a part of that. Okay, yeah, if you turn around and start killing people at random then I might have to reconsider but until then, a few million miles is quite enough distance for me.”

Loki gave one of his small, genuine if confused smiles then chuckled, “You would continue to know me after all you know?”

“Was that not what this whole conversation was about?”

“And how do the Avengers feel about your relationship with their nemesis now that they apparently know?”

“First of all, that counts as finding somewhere to wallow and second,” Tony scoffed at him, “Nemesis? Don't flatter yourself. We both know I could’ve taken you out if I wanted. In fact, I was the only one of the Avengers to put you on your ass if I remember rightly.”

“I was distracted,” Loki pointed out, his smile turning playful, “In a fair fight, I don’t think your chances would be quite so high.”

“I don't think you'd know a fair fight if it put on one of my suits and threw you out the window.”

Loki paused but thankfully, it was amusement not shame on his face as he ran his eyes up and down Tony. They paused over his chest, “You never did tell me how you fixed your heart. May I now know?”

Tony pretended to think about it, although really he had no qualms about telling him. He was just glad to see that hint of the old inquisitive Loki beginning to peek through properly. Besides, no one else had bothered to ask, and Tony had been dying to show off. But he held that urge in check. If this had been any other time he'd pull up all the schematics for the particle accelerator, he'd challenge Loki to find the atomic structure hidden in the model of the Stark Expo, he'd show him how it had all come together save his life. But the delicate atmosphere still carrying the weight of Loki's story was not that time. There would be opportunity in the future.

“I invented a new element, no big deal,” he said with a nonchalant shrug then looked down and unbuttoned the first few buttons of his shirt, “Though actually, it doesn’t really matter anymore...”

Loki tilted his head and stood slowly as Tony pulled open a gap in his shirt to show him the barely visible scar where the reactor had been removed. With a curious squint, he took a couple of steps forward and bent to get a closer look. Tony always felt a strange dissonance when Loki came close. There was no warmth to his image, no scent, no soft tingle of his innate magic. None of what had made Tony always find some way to be just a little closer than he had to be whenever Loki visited. It hit a nerve that Tony had been doing his best to apply his own minimize and distract techniques to. Though they hadn't been working so far…

After a second of inspection, Loki stood upright again looking at him, impressed, “You fixed yourself completely. Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” Tony said, not bothering to rebutton his shirt, “After the whole Mandarin thing, decided maybe it was a little bit of a crutch, I dunno. I mean I don’t actually need it to power the suits so...”

“I did always wonder why a man of your brilliance allowed something as minor as metal fragments be such a weakness,” Loki said, “Though I suppose there will no longer be that same interaction between us. A shame, in a way. I doubt there will be anything like it in the universe,” he hesitated as though unsure whether to continue, “I rather miss the sensation"

“I actually had some ideas about that, it wouldn’t be too hard to mimic,” Tony said, briefly considered whether he should actually tell him about some of them yet, “Not that they can be tested out while you’re in Casper mode.”

Loki eyed Tony a moment and then a playful smile spread over his face, “You would wish me free of this place?” he lifted his chin and little, “I had assumed that these little chats were only acceptable because I was...how did you put it? Oh yes, neutralized and detained?”

“Well I gotta tell the teachers something,” Tony replied with a shrug, “You’d think with me bank-rolling this whole operation and saving the world like five times now they’d trust my judgement but apparently I’m still considered volatile and self-obsessed.”

“I can’t possibly imagine where they got that idea from,” Loki said sarcastically.

Tony decided not to address the comment, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that there’s still this,” he gestured between the two of them with a finger, “But it’s not the same as you actually being here. There was always something...invigorating about knowing that at any moment there might be a knife or twelve thrown at my head for some undisclosed discretion.”

“The discretion was always disclosed, you weren’t always listening,” Loki smiled at some fond memory, “Though I wouldn’t put too much weight in your-”

He cut himself off mid-sentence and lifted his gaze to somewhere over Tony’s shoulder. Tony turned slightly but didn’t see anything, “What’re you looking at?”

“There’s some commotion here,” he said, clearly distracted because he took a couple of steps towards what he was looking at and passed straight through Tony, sending shivers down his spine, “It looks like...fighting,” he chuckled to himself, “Inevitable really, they have been packing prisoners from all over the realms down here. I’ve not known it so full in a long time.”

“Is there something going on that I should know about?” Tony asked, suddenly a little concerned.

“I don’t think so,” Loki said speaking with only idle interest as he continued to watch whatever was going on, which was reassuring in its own way, “While the Bifrost was broken, the realms took the opportunity to enjoy their brief time without Asgardian control I suppose. But now that it’s being repaired, Asgard have been reminding them of their not inconsiderable strength. Midgard isn’t considered an unruly realm so I don’t think there will be any issues for you to concern yourself with.”

Tony gave a quiet sigh of relief. The thought of trying to fight off an army of Thors wasn’t something he wanted to have to worry about.

Loki turned back to him, “Would you mind if I retreated? I would be curious to see how this riot is put down.”

Tony shrugged, “Sure. But don’t leave it so long before coming back again alright?”

“I won’t,” Loki smiled, “Perhaps this is a wide-scale attempt to escape. Maybe I could lend my assistance.”

Tony took a breath and yawned as the time of night suddenly occurred to him, “Alright then, I’m going to bed. Let me know if you need harboring.”

“Sleep well, Anthony,” Loki said, then flashed out of existence.

Tony paused where he stood now alone in his Penthouse, taking a moment to come to terms with the fact he had practically dared the biggest threat Earth had faced to escape his captivity. But honestly, it didn’t take long. Frankly he missed the guy. He missed the conversation, he missed the regular lessons of the universe, he missed pitting Jarvis against sorcery to see which came out on top.

Hell, he just missed Loki.

After a moment, he stretched his arms over his head and yawned again. Sleep would be a lot easier now he knew Loki was on the track to being ok. So long as he didn’t get himself killed in whatever was going on in the prison.


	12. Chapter 12

Turns out, Tony was one of the very, very few people capable of noticing the ‘Convergence’ before the massive holes in reality opened up over London. Not that he knew it had a name other than ‘Holy Shit What the Fuck is That’ until he heard it on the news well after the event.  

The wormhole sensors he’d set up across the globe a little while ago started going haywire the morning after Loki disappeared to check out the prison riot that was apparently happening on Asgard. Tony had made a few phone calls to SHIELD and the rest of the Avengers to try and warn people that something was going on, but no one seemed to be as concerned as he was. There wasn’t anything else that Tony could do but record all the information he could get his hands on to try and figure it out on his own.   

It had been a long, frustrating day and an almost sleepless night staring at graphs and holograms with no answers whatsoever before the London portals suddenly opened up. If that hadn’t been cause enough for concern on its own, the giant alien ship that showed up not long after that definitely was. Tony hadn’t expected to see Thor following shortly behind, but Jesus was it good to that bright red cape flapping in the breeze at every opportunity for a majestic pose. From his Penthouse, watching events unfold on the tv through a series of bad news camera angles, Tony wanted desperately to help, to put on a suit and get over there to lend a hand.  

But he found himself frozen in his living room.  

As he stared at the openings in the sky, the chaos of the battle that was decimating buildings, more literal aliens destroying an Earth city, he couldn't stop the flashbacks from almost blinding him. It all came just a bit too close to New York to comfort.  

Thankfully, Thor seemed to have everything under control and the battle ended almost as quickly as it had started.  Unfortunately, Thor had been beamed back to Asgard before Tony had had a chance to reach out and find out what the hell that had all been about. He put the word that he was looking into it though, hoping maybe to speak to Selvig or either of the two woman he'd glimpsed briefly on the news but he was in no rush. If he couldn’t get hold of anyone beforehand, Loki would have some idea as to what that was, Tony just had to wait for him to come back so he could ask.  

In the meantime, he could make do with the models he'd created from the data recorded across the world. Thanks to his admittedly random placement of the wormhole detectors he’d managed to pick up a fair breadth of information about the event, even if the handmade, quite carefully designed and built detectors had all been all fried by the energy spikes.  

It couldn’t have been a coincidence that there were exactly eight holes in the sky over London. They had to be something to do with the Nine Realms but after another day since the portals had closed again, all he’d hypothesized was that maybe they had been windows into them? 

He huffed quietly to himself as he stared at his holographic replicas of the portals hanging in the air over his living room floor. Maybe this might be a step toward learning how to navigate the corridors between the realms as Loki had put it once. It had been a long-term goal of his since Loki had let slip that apparently anyone could do if they knew how and with this might just be a step closer. 

The muffled thud of something heavy hitting the balcony outside the Penthouse drew his attention.  

He was briefly proud of himself for not flinching at the sudden sound before the feeling was replaced with curiosity at the sight of the God of Thunder himself walking along the length of the balcony toward the building entrance. He certainly had a different approach to unannounced visits than his brother did. Maybe he’d gotten word that Tony was looking to speak to him about London. 

Tony watched Thor following the arc of the balcony around towards the Penthouse door. He'd never seen the guy in anything other than battle armor, but he wasn’t dressed for battle this time, thankfully. Like Loki, Thor’s civvies were all heavy fabric and leather that seemed make up the entirety of Asgardian fashion, red, black, and silver in Thor’s case. His signature cape was now wrapped around his shoulders like a poncho instead of billowing out behind him. He looked like he was about to set out on a trip to Mordor. 

Tony smiled in greeting as Thor pushed open the door to the Penthouse, not bothering to hide the images of the portals he’d created. 

“Good afternoon,” he greeted, a curious eyebrow raised as Thor came into the room, “Long time no see.” 

Thor nodded stiffly in response, letting the door fall closed behind him, no smile, Mjolnir gripped in one hand, expression serious, “Greetings, Tony. I hope I’m not disturbing you, I'm afraid I didn’t have time to send word ahead.” 

Tony wafted the notion away with one quick hand, “No, no, don’t worry, I was actually hoping to catch you. You want a drink? Tea, coffee, something a bit stronger?” Tony asked, already turning and walking towards his bar, calling over his shoulder as he went, “I wouldn’t go as far as to call it strong, I assume it’s basically fruit juice to you, but still tastes pretty good. Promise!” 

“I’m fine, thank you,” Thor declined as Tony jogged up the few stairs to the bar stepped behind his bar, “Please don’t let me stop you.” 

Tony shrugged and poured himself a small measure to cover the slight unease creeping into his mood. There was something off about this. Granted he’d not spent that much time with Thor, but this didn’t feel like he’d just dropped by for a catch up. There was a gravity to the guy that Tony didn’t like the feeling of.  

He carried on speaking as he poured, hoping to mask his quiet nerves, maybe lighten the heavying mood, “I saw you on the news, over in London. You wanna tell me why you’re bringing your battles to Earth now?” 

Thor gave an audible exhale, “I never meant to put Midgard in harm’s way. Events did not go as planned...” 

Tony glanced up at him briefly before stoppering the decanter and replacing it. The guy had just won a great battle against some foe or other, he should be sharing his war stories, not being vaguely morbid about them. This wasn’t a friendly chat at all. Something was wrong and Thor was here to tell him what it was.  

After a second, Tony sniffed and plucked his drink up from the bar, reluctant to hear any more bad news, “Should’ve dropped me a line, I would’ve headed over. Haven’t been to London in too long. Let me tell you, their gin is famous for a reason. You have gin on Asgard?” 

Thor gave a small, sad looking smile as he watched Tony walk back from the bar towards him, “There was unfortunately no time to stop and call for aid,” the smile died and Thor looked away, “Perhaps if there were, things could’ve been different.” 

A frown had settled on Tony’s face as he approached, his pace slowing, cautious, his drink suddenly forgotten in one hand. Something was very wrong. “What things?” 

“I understand you and Loki, you knew each other. Is that true?” Thor answered his question with a question.  

The soft note of worry that had been growing in Tony’s gut suddenly spiked at the mention of his name. He should’ve known it would be something to do with him. Maybe he wasn’t joking about getting involved in that prison riot.  

Tony hesitated, unsure how much Thor knew, or more importantly, how much Loki wanted him to know, “Tall guy, dark hair, tried to take over the world that one time?” 

Thor actually chuckled at that but it was subdued, “Fear not, there would be no anger from me, merely, Loki told me the two of you had developed something of a bond,” he shrugged a shoulder, “It wouldn't surprise me to hear he was lying but I'd like to know either way.”  

“Ok sure, we have a bond,” Tony replied, still a doing his best to ignore that gnawing worry in his gut with a shrug, “I don’t know if you knew but I actually knew him before he went missing. Still visits here sometimes. Not physically, though. Magically. He was still in God jail last I heard.” 

An unreadable expression passed over Thor's face for a moment before he gave a subdued smile, “I'm glad. It's good to know he was not as alone as he seemed.” 

“What’s this about?” Tony asked quickly.   

“Given the friendship the two of you apparently shared, I thought I should inform you myself.” 

That was it. The unreadable expression suddenly snapped into recognition.  He’d seen this demeanor a few times. It was something that he’d seen a lot of doctors do, even Rhodey once or twice. This was the home visit. Thor was stood in his Penthouse following a recent battle, looking as though someone had died. And there they only had one mutual friend. 

Thor took a deep breath, steeling himself against the words he was about to say, then said it.  

“Loki died.” 

It hit Tony like a freight train.  

He'd guessed it was coming but it wasn’t enough to cushion the blow. It wasn’t the news that blindsided him, it was the pain it caused. He felt winded. The blood drained from his hands and face so fast his skin prickled and flushed icy hot. His throat grew thick and scratchy and he screwed his eyes and twitched his neck against it but the sensation wasn't going anywhere.  

“I don't know the full extent of your relationship, Loki never shared with me the details,” Thor continued, “But I think he must have cared for you. He was always careful with his affections.” 

It was hard to make out through the sudden volume of the rushing thud of his heartbeat in his ears. It felt like he was underwater. Drowning.  

“How...um, how’d it happen?” Tony fought against his reeling mind to ask, tripping over the words as he forced them past that lump in his throat. He opened his eyes but had turned slightly away from Thor, gaze lowered. Eye contact was not something he was about to deal with right now.  

Thor took a moment to choose his words carefully, “He died avenging our mother after she was killed in an invasion and in the process, he saved a mortal he barely knew. Loki died a warrior’s death, and he will dine in Valhalla with our ancestors for what he has done.” 

Tony had to swallow the reactive, disrespectful scoff.  

‘Loki died a warrior’s death’. What the hell did that matter? Death was death was death. Didn't matter how you died there was never anything heroic about it. It was cold, and lonely, and it was always more devastating to those left behind. Death was an unstoppable, uncaring force had just ripped away something Tony was only beginning to work out how much he cared for. Fuck death in all of its forms. 

They had come through so much, so god damn much, and this was how it was supposed to end? Loki dying millions of miles away without warning? Tony hadn’t gotten to say goodbye. How was that fair? How could that be what they deserved after everything they had done?  

Fuck death and fuck this universe. 

Tony swallowed and tried to remember himself through the haze of anger, and grief. At least while Thor was still here. 

“Sorry about your mom,” he said quickly, then threw back the whiskey turning back to the bar for another dose.  

“She was a great woman,” Thor said, with a graciousness appropriate to royalty then appeared to swallow the sentiment and move on, to other matters “You should know, I’m leaving Asgard for a while. Perhaps even the Nine Realms.” 

Tony only barely registering that he was saying anything at all as he stalked back to the bar. What did it matter anymore? He felt sick. 

“Two of the Stones have shown themselves in the last two years, and if Loki is to be believed we must find the others before Thanos can,” Thor continued, resolutely oblivious or deliberately ignorant of Tony’s complete reluctance to continue speaking. 

The mention of the Infinity Stones or Thanos should really have triggered alarm bells in his mind. Loki had been very clear on their power. But Loki was dead and-  

Fuck, Loki was dead...  

“Happy hunting,” he muttered half-heartedly, busy pouring himself another drink, watching the liquid fall intently. Anything to avoid looking up at Thor.  

“I’ve left instructions on how to contact me with Director Fury, if necessary,” Thor said, less confident than he had been, apparently finally sensing the shift in mood. 

Tony nodded but he’d functionally checked out of the conversation staring at the swirling whiskey in his glass.  

Thor was quiet for a moment, before nodding, “I will leave you to your thoughts. I’m sorry to we could not have met again on better circumstances.” 

“Yeah…” Tony agreed, the clenched his jaw and lifted his gaze to Thor's briefly as something occurred to him, “Hey, um...thanks for letting me know.” 

It was a genuine sentiment. How long would he have been sat, alone in this Penthouse, waiting for a visit that would never come? 

Without another word, Thor left the Penthouse the way he’d entered and with a swing of his hammer he disappeared into the sky.  

Once he was little more than a blip on the horizon, Tony exhaled a shaky breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, leaning heavily on the bar with both hands, gripping it so hard, his knuckles went white. His eyes burned and he screwed them shut. He wanted to throw something, drink a lot, put on a suit and disappear for a few days. Maybe blow something up and make a new crater in the Sahara. But that wouldn’t fix things.  

That wouldn’t bring Loki back. 

Hell, there wouldn’t even be a funeral or a memorial, at least not one that Tony could go to. Whatever it was Asgardians did they probably did it on Asgard. He’d never get closure, never get answers, especially when he couldn’t bring himself ask the questions. How was he even supposed to grieve when the only people he could talk to only knew Loki as the supervillain who tried to destroy New York. They wouldn't understand why he was feeling the way he was feeling. They’d never understand what the two of them had shared.  

Or what Tony had just lost.  

He snatched his glass from the bar and hurled it across the room. It hit the glass wall and exploded in a rain of glass and liquor. 

“My my...” 

The sound of an unexpected voice made him turn.  

Stood next to him, less than three feet awayy, was Loki. The one Tony had just been told had died.  

For a fleeting, glorious moment, Tony thought maybe this was just another nightmare. He’d wake up and the Convergence would have never happened, Thor would never have turned up, and Loki would visit once again with stories of a prison riot to share. But a quick nip of the inside of his cheek was enough to prove it wasn’t a dream.  

Nope, this was the next step in mania.  

There was a part of him that couldn’t help but be annoyed that his own mind couldn’t even be bothered to dress its hallucination of Loki in the guy’s own clothes. This image of Loki was just dressed in a very human, all black suit, with a black shirt and a black tie. Dressed for a funeral...  

“I suspected you cared for me, Stark,” it folded its arms across its chest and regarded the mess of whiskey and glass on the floor across the room, “but I’d never have guessed the news of my death would have had you wasting your whiskey.” 

Tony rolled his eyes then rubbed his forehead, “Don’t worry there’s plenty more where that came from. Better get started. Didn’t expect all this to start so soon...” 

The hallucination turned to look at Tony, one eyebrow raised, “I pride myself on my speed. Not in all areas mind you,” it gave a teasing smirk but when Tony just levelled his gaze flatly at it, it faltered a little.  

“Is a day to come to terms with this too much to ask?” Tony sighed bitterly and looked back to the bar, “I mean, I’d always assumed this was coming. The hallucinations I mean,” he pulled a new glass from the bar and went to fill it up, “You know, a logical response to this shit heap of a reality. Just thought I'd have a bit more time before I finally broke.” 

The image of Loki blinked and frowned, his arms unfolding. It regarded him thoughtfully for a moment before it said, “You think I’m a product of your troubled mind?” 

Tony finished pouring a large measure into a fresh glass then took a swig straight from the decanter before putting it back on the bar top, not bothering to re-stopper it. He looked back to the image, drink in one hand, gesturing with it as he went.  

“Yes,” he snapped, “You're a hallucination. You know how I know? I just had Thor in here telling me you died. He seemed pretty certain that if you were anywhere, you'd be in Valhalla, with your great great grand-whatevers so unless I’ve somehow built this Tower in Viking heaven and you're here to dine, then you're not real, are you?” 

“Anthony,” Loki said gave a quiet, uncertain chuckle, “I must say I missed your sense of humor, but I'm afraid I'm not enjoying this jest. I’m not a halluc-” 

Tony cut him off with a sharp motion, and a barked “Don’t! Don’t bother. I’m not gonna argue with my own brain.”  

The image looked caught off guard at the reaction, the expressions so accurately mirroring that of the real deal. It moved and acted so naturally, it just added to the hurt he was feeling to see the look of concern in the hallucination’s eyes. Tony screwed his eyes shut and groaned a little, then looked back to him, steeling against what he would see when he looked at him. 

“Look, it’s not like I can do anything about you being here until I pass out, hopefully sooner rather than later, but just…shut up? It's bad enough seeing you, but I can’t-” a fresh wave of grief bubbled up his throat and cut him off. He clenched his jaw against it, taking a moment to stop it spilling over with a deep, calming breath. With one quick motion, he finished the drink in his hand and discarded the glass on the bar, snatching up the decanter instead before continuing, “…It's the voice. I can’t deal with the sound of his voice.” 

The image‘s brow twitched up in an expression that Tony had rarely seen on the real Loki's face. One of remorse.  It went to take a step closer, “Anth-” 

“Stop it!” Tony yelled suddenly, staring at the image wide eyed, “Stop. Talking.” 

The image’s mouth snapped closed and it stopped mid-step, almost swaying back with the force of Tony’s voice.  

Tony paused and exhaled then pressed his lips together into a thin line, collecting himself. He could feel his stomach roiling against the alcohol in his system. A wave of light-headedness passed over him as he looked back to the decanter in his hand. 

“You’re gone, Lokes...” he said after a long moment, staring at the decanter, “You’re gone. I did everything I could but...Now you're dead and I get to deal with seeing the ghost of you I’ve created in my own head as if you weren’t?,” he shook his head, “I can’t deal with this right now, so please, just…leave me alone.” 

With that, he dragged the decanter from the bar and went to walk through the image figuring maybe if he did it would be enough of a jolt to his head it might dissipate it for a few minutes at least.  

Only to find himself bumping straight into it. 

The sensations hit all at once. The brief feeling of a warm body under the suit that he’d just walked into. The solid strength of an Asgardian, every bit as immovable as Thor but held with a grace that would never have belied it. That familiar, calming scent that hung gently in the air around him, smelling like snow, sharp and clean.  

The conviction with which Tony had believed this was just a hallucination was scrabbling for an explanation, simply because the alternative felt too fantastically good to be true.   

“Do you really believe your mind would be able to recreate a being like me?” Loki, the real, solid, actually here Loki, asked with a playful sternness to his voice.  

In silent disbelief, Tony found himself lifting a free hand up. He hesitated a moment wondering whether he wanted to test this any further, just let himself live in whatever blissful ignorance this might be and leave it at that. But it was only a fleeting consideration. He had to know. As he went to lay the hand on Loki’s chest, a part of him still expected it to fall straight through. 

But it didn’t.   

The suit was real, giving way slightly under his touch until it was stopped by the solid barrier of Loki’s chest. His solid, warm, real chest.  

“I never died, Anthony,” Loki said, gently drawing Tony’s disbelieving gaze up to his face, “And you were never supposed to think I had. You can't know how sorry I am to have put you through that.” 

Tony wanted to speak but he couldn’t seem to get anything past the wild spiral of shock that had overwhelmed and knocked any sort of capacity for thought. The beginnings of hope sparked in its absence. 

Loki offered a soft smile as he raised a hand to wrap his fingers around Tony's hand on his chest. His skin was soft and warm and Tony couldn’t stop the quiet inhale that came with the contact, “I will never lie to you. Never trick you. I swear this is not the nightmare you believe it to be.”  

Tony swallowed and ran his eyes over the man again, searching for something, anything that might break this wonderful fantasy. He needed to find it before it could take root in his mind and then rip another part of him away when it eventually disintegrated around him. His gaze ticked quickly from Loki’s face, to his suit, to their hands on his chest, down his legs and to his shoes and, finally, his shadow.  

For whatever, stupid, illogical reason it was the shadow that sealed it.  

Hallucinations couldn’t cast shadows. Even in his limited knowledge of mental breakdowns, that seemed like too much for the brain to try and calculate, especially mid-breakdown. This couldn’t be what Tony had feared. Only solid objects cast shadows. Solid people.  

As the revelation flushed through his system with a fresh burst of adrenaline, he looked quickly back up to Loki’s face to find that final confirmation. And he found it, in that incredible, unique smirk that guy would give when he felt his had won some challenge between them.  

“The second time I have rendered you speechless in almost as many days,” he teased quietly, as brushed his thumb affectionally over the back of Tony’s fingers, almost leaving a trail of warmth across them, “Perhaps I should not have come. My mere presence may eventually stupefy you.” 

Tony finally corralled his thoughts into some sort of sensible order. He took a moment to close his dumbstruck mouth, reset his expression to one of schooled neutrality and replace the decanter gently on the bartop. Then he slipped his other hand from Loki’s grip and regarded him flatly for a moment,  

Then attempted to shove him backwards.  

“You asshole!” he barked as he did, but there was none of the fury that had cost the life of one of his glasses just a few minutes before. Of course, he was angry. He’d probably just lost fifth of his remaining lifespan to stress from Loki’s “death”, but as he’d looked up at that easy, cocksure smile and felt the skin of a man he’d not been so close to in months, the guy was practically the definition of impossible to stay mad with. 

Despite the reality being that no matter how hard he had shoved, Tony would never be able to even gently lean Loki let alone move him anywhere, Loki played along and took a step back, smirk billowing into a playful grin as he did.  

“I thought you were dead!” Tony continued gesturing after him, more venting than telling off. Thankfully, Loki had learned the difference a long time ago and stood and listened quietly, “You’re even dressed like you’re dead! Why are you wearing that?! Christ...Thor told me you died in battle or something, but I bet you saw that didn’t you? Otherwise you should be the God of Coincidence, turning up when you did...” 

Loki chuckled a little as he regained the small amount of ground he conceded to the shove, “I did see that. I would have stepped in, but I find myself in quite a complicated situation at-” 

Tony waved a tired hand to cut him off again and Loki fell silent.  

Something that had been buried deep down in Tony’s mind under layers of denial and the protective shielding built up over months ‘it’ll never happen so why bother thinking about it’, had shattered open at the news of the guy’s death.  

He’d missed the God, cared about him, more than he probably should have, and he’d come to accept that over time. Loki was his friendbefore New York, of course he cared about him afterwards. But the moment Thor had told him that the guy had died, well he’d maybe reacted a little bit more than if it was just the new loss of a questionable friend. It had forced him to consider the possibility that this was more than friends. He sure had been fighting his corner hard after the last few weeks, and always made sure he was there for the visits, sometimes cancelling on very important people. Fury himself that one time...  

And now Loki was here. Not his image, not under the influence of some magic stick from another galaxy, just...here. 

He turned and looked at him silently, for just long enough for Loki to raise a questioning eyebrow before a thought occurred. Granted, it was maybe a slightly tipsy thought that was a bit of a gamble given the time they’d spent apart, but brushes with death had a way of making him realize what mattered. What the hell, life was too short.    

Tony reached up and grabbed the lapels of Loki’s jacket and used them as an anchor to pull himself forward to kiss him.  

The gamble paid off.  

Loki reacted as though he’d been expecting it, bending to the weight on his jacket as Tony pulled him into him, arching himself forward, pressing himself against him. Their lips met easily, having lost none of the familiarity in their time apart. As Loki bent to him, Tony felt one hand slip around to the nape of his neck, while the other arm snaked around his waist and held him with a reassuring strength that reminded Tony that he could pick him up one handed if he wanted to. Suddenly, it felt as though they were back in his workshop at Malibu Point, in the early days. As though the disappearances, battles, wars, imprisonment, and death hadn’t happened. 

His brain made some final vain bid to undermine him, make him regret his tipsy choices by showing him images of the Battle of New York, Loki fighting Steve in Germany, trapped in the glass cage, grinning at the thought of conquering his world.  

But it didn’t work. That hadn't been the Loki he knew.  

It wasn’t the one that had taught him the secrets of the universe that CERN had been hunting for decades. Or the one who’d kept him company in the dark nights in his workshop sat in the back seat of one of his cars taking it in turns to either pick an old movie to watch or an old Asgardian tale to recreate in HD magical detail, even as they quietly counted down the days to the death Tony had once expected to come for him. 

The one who’d escaped a prison in a different part of the universe, and faked his death to even his own family, and yet found his way back to Tony’s Penthouse. That was this Loki. That was  _his_  Loki.  

The thoughts dissipated, and Tony lost himself in the feeling of Loki’s unwavering strength, his warmth, just his  _presence_ for a long glorious time before Loki was the one to pull back ever so slightly. Thankfully, he kept his arm locked possessively around Tony’s waist holding him against him, hand resting on the back of his neck. They rested their foreheads together, eyes closed, soft matching smiles. 

“Can you ever forgive me?” Loki breathed.  

Tony exhaled, “Just...don’t make a habit of making me think you’re dead? I don’t know how many more glasses I can afford to lose.” 

The hand on his neck, slid along so that Loki’s arm was across his shoulders and gently tightened his grip. Tony allowed himself to be pulled closer, fully embraced. He sighed and with it felt physically the fear and the anxiety and the grief slip away. He let himself lean against Loki, letting the God take his weight as he rested his head in the curve of the guy’s neck. He was still gripping Loki‘s lapels but didn’t want to let go, not yet. It was unbelievably good to be enveloped in Loki’s arms after so long. Loki laid his cheek on Tony’s head and sighed.  

“I swear, never again.”  

Tony closed his eyes and smiled.  


	13. Chapter 13

“Anthony,” Loki said gently, lifting his cheek from the top of his mortal’s head.

They had been silently embracing for several blissful minutes. Anthony seemed content to remain locked onto him, given his fear that he was merely a hallucination, it would make sense. Loki wasn’t complaining. He’d been worried about coming here. It was one thing to joke about harboring a criminal of interdimensional war, it was quite another to have one arrive unannounced in one’s living room, though clearly, his fears were misplaced.

Loki’s affections for his mortal had only grown in their separation, but he had never assumed those affections were reciprocated. He’d only actually come here to make sure he was alright following Malekith’s attack on Midgard.

The ferocity of impact of news of his death on Anthony was...unexpected.

It was devastating to witness his mortal’s pain, though it sparked a small unbidden hope that perhaps his mortal still cared for him as he once had before New York separated them. The kiss that was Anthony’s disbelieving reaction to his presence was more than enough to fan some life into that spark.

“Anthony,” Loki coaxed again, speaking quietly into Anthony’s ear, “As much as I would love to remain here for all eternity, I have, as you would say, had a time. Would you allow me to get a drink?”

“Couple more seconds,” Anthony mumbled, muffled against the cloth of Loki's jacket.

There was an unspoken plea in his quiet words that brought a tightness to Loki’s chest and he just hugged him a little closer and buried his mouth and nose into the soft, tussled hair of his head.

“Take all the time you need, I never meant to put you through that,” he said, gently and he felt Anthony tightened his grip a little. Loki smirked to himself, “Though in my defense, I did not anticipate you would react so.”

He felt Anthony’s chest expand and contract with a deep breath, “Yeah...me neither.”

With that, he pressed back against Loki’s embrace and Loki relinquished his grip instantly, allowing Anthony to take a step away from him. He glanced up at Loki momentarily then turned his attention to the bar.

Loki watched him carefully, “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Anthony nodded quickly, wafting the notion away with one hand, but the tiredness that laced his features didn't quite match his enthusiasm, “Well, no I’ve been better honestly, but it’s nothing to worry about...” he let the thought drift away then looked up to meet Loki’s gaze. He must have seen something in it because some of the fatigue in his eyes dissipated and he gave a smile, “Still a bit muddled but not about reality, I know you’re real, don’t worry.”

That little spark was dampened a little by the tiredness which he stated the fact, “I need not stay if you’d prefer time alone.”

Anthony scowled so deeply at the prospect it was enough to immediately disregard that slight fear, “No! No, don’t go, you just got here. Sort of. I just need to reconcile a few things in my head, but I'd much rather have to come to terms with whatever feelings these are about you than have to come to terms with your death.”

Loki found a smile creeping onto his face, but he didn’t press whatever these ‘feelings’ were. It didn’t matter, he was simply happy to see Anthony’s energy returning as he spoke. Anthony plucked the half empty decanter from the bar, considered it a moment, returned it to its proper place and pulled a different bottle from his selection.

“I mean, it shouldn’t really be a surprise, Anthony continued, musing in that endlessly endearing monologue of consciousness that Loki had missed witnessing.

He relaxed into a lean, his hip against the bar, knowing that there would be no interrupting until Anthony had reached his conclusion.

“There was something before wasn’t there? I mean there was for me,” Anthony carried on, studying the bottle in his hand before starting to unscrew the cap of the bottle he’d chosen, using the loose lid to gesticulate as he spoke, and doing nothing with the bottle itself, “I don’t know what it was, but it was something. Then all the shit hit the fan. You thought I’d died, New York happened, you went to jail and I thought I’d never see you again, you thought I’d died again and then... I thought you’d died...” he hesitated a second as though the thought was still a little painful, “It’s a lot right? It's a lot...There was always going to be...something? Right?” he glanced up at Loki, an exasperated frown on his face and asked a genuine question, “You reckon this what religion feels like?”

“I’m afraid I wouldn’t know,” Loki told him through the smile that was stuck fast to his features.

Anthony puffed his cheeks out and exhaled, turning his attention back to the drinks he was supposed to be pouring, “Makes sense. You’re a god. Gods don’t have gods. You wouldn’t know what it feels like to finally work out you have feelings for one...”

That spark bloomed into a flame at the admission and he found himself unable to find words to respond.

Anthony didn‘t seem to notice, he sniffed as the bottle he was holding glugged a couple of measures into two waiting glasses, “Anywho, that’s a topic for another evening, there's only so heavy I can get in one evening. There is a more pressing issue at hand,” he screwed the bottle closed and dropped it back into its place.

Loki gave a questioning frown as Anthony lifted one of the glasses and handed it over

“What I want to know is, why the hell are you dressed like that?”

Loki blinked in surprise, taking the offered drink in a slow, confused motion, “You’re still reeling from the news of my death and your immediate issue is my attire?”

In answer, Anthony just shrugged and took a sip of his drink.

Loki gave a breath of disbelieving laughter and shook his head, wondering why he was surprised, “Well, it took me some time and some mundane travel to find my way here, including some on Midgard, I felt I would blend in a little better if I dressed as Midgardians do,” he paused, waiting for a reaction, but Anthony just hmm’d and gave him an evaluative once over, “You disapprove?”

“No! No, you look as good in that as you in anything else, but next time you want to do as the Romans do, come to me for fashion advice before you go to a funeral home?” Anthony quipped, lightheartedly then went to move past him, this time walking around him. Though still close enough to brush his hand past Loki‘s as he went.

“Noted,” Loki turned once Anthony had gone and watched him descend the couple of steps from the bar towards the plush sofas across the otherwise of the room. While his back was turned, Loki reached for the strands of the arcane and let his magic run over him, replacing the Midgardian suit and shirt with the more comfortable soft leather trousers and cloth tunic, “Better?”

Anthony turned stopped and about turned at the question, raising an eyebrow the sudden costume change. After a second, he laughed to himself, “You know, I never thought I’d be so comforted by seeing actual magic in my front room,” he smirked a little as he turned and continued to the sofa, speaking over his shoulder as he went, “Now that you’ve slipped into something a little more comfortable, are you gonna come sit down and tell me what’s been going on?”

Loki took his time following him, taking slow measured steps. There was nothing about this encounter that he was going rush. It had been too long not to bask in every moment of simply being here, free and unhindered. He’d spent so long seeing this room through the stained glass of a different reality, it was almost too good to be true to feel the solid stone beneath his feet and hold the weight of his glass in one hand, the taste of the whiskey still lingering on his tongue. The warmth and presence of his mortal a fresh memory.

Anthony flopped down onto the sofa as Loki crossed the room to join him, his exaggerated movements highlighting the influence of the alcohol he’d been consuming. With a little more grace and control, Loki seated himself beside him, leaning back into the plush cushions with a contented sigh.

He as soon as he was settled, Anthony turned in his seat and laid himself out, resting his ankles on one arm of the sofa and laying his head in Loki’s lap. Loki froze for a second at the unexpected movement but then watched fondly as Anthony took up a position they had not shared since before New York.

“Comfy?” Loki asked, one amused eyebrow raised.

“As comfy as I can be, I guess, I forgot how bony your lap was,” Anthony grumbled, shuffling pointedly, scowling up at him.

Loki chuckled and without thinking, threaded his fingers through his mortal’s dark hair, just as he used to in his workshop on the long nights when Anthony found sleep elusive. It had invariably calmed him.

“I’m so sorry for your inconvenience,” Loki replied sarcastically, tilting his head a little and watching the familiar calm smile and the wave of relaxation wash over Anthony at the touch on his scalp.

“I’ll let you off this time...” Anthony said quietly, eyes closed peacefully, “You'd better get going on this story cos if you keep going with that then I may just fall asleep right now.”

“Then I shall try to keep you entertained,” Loki said, but didn’t stop absently brushing his fingers back and forth through Anthony’s hair gazing down at him affectionately.

He knew he should tell him the full story. How the death of his mother had reawakened that blinding anger, how the Dark Elves had risen to attempt to return the universe to the darkness it once came from using one of the Infinity Stones to do so. But he couldn’t bring himself to. He would tell him soon, but not now.

Anthony was asking for a story, he didn’t want the unrelenting truth of existence. Not in this moment of peace.

“Where shall I begin?”

Anthony hummed thoughtfully, lowering his still full drink to the floor now unwanted, and then folding his hands over his stomach, “Wherever you want, so long as you tell me how and why you felt the need to fake your death.”

Loki chuckled, “I wouldn’t call it that.”

“Oh yeah, then what would you call it, Houdini?”

Loki had no idea what Houdini was, just another reference Anthony made to his own amusement, “Well, faking one’s death implies an intention to do so,” Loki told him, honestly, “Whereas, I simply survived something that everyone assumed had killed me.”

“Exciting and cryptic, just like old times. Do tell.”

Loki smiled. “Have I told you of the Dark Elves?” Anthony gently rolled his head side to side along Loki’s thigh. “They are one of the oldest races in the universe, created before even the light itself, and they have been searching for a way to return to that darkness ever since. It was thought they were extinct after the Allfather’s father who defeated them five thousand years ago. That is until they attacked Asgard without warning…”

The thought drifted away as the memory of Frigga’s loss diverted his attention and he lifted his gaze to the cityscape beginning to glow against the slowly darkening sky, taking a sip of his drink as he did. When he’d collected his thoughts he looked back to find Anthony watching him.

“I’m sorry about Frigga,” he offered quietly.

Loki looked down at him gratefully at him, brushing his thumb through his hair, “As am I, though it is a bittersweet feeling. It is because of her that the Dark Elves did not succeed in their goal, and the only reason I can be here with you now. It is a selfish thought but I'm glad something good came of her death.”

Anthony’s eyes ticked between Loki’s his brow creased a little, as though he was trying to find something to say.

“It’s all right,” Loki told him, softly, “I have mourned her death and those responsible have paid. You likely saw it yourself in the footage broadcast across your world.”

Anthony considered that a moment, before his eyes slowly closed again and he seemed to relax once more, “So, how did you manage to accidentally fake your death?”

“Ah yes,” Loki affected an overdramatic tone, “The great tragedy of the story.”

“Where’s the tragedy if you’re still alive?” Anthony pointed out, “Kind of self-depreciating...”

“You’re the only one who knows that,” Loki answered easily, “I’m sure the rest of the universe mourns appropriately.”

Anthony just gave a dubious hum but said nothing else.

“The Dark Elves have weaponry that has been lost for millennia,” Loki continued his story, “I'm sure you would have been excited to see the explosive that nearly took me from existence. It tore a hole in the fabric of space to create a minute black holes that drew in all matter around it and crush it to a point. Including myself,” he paused again, not entirely for dramatic effect as the memory of his brush with death still brought a quiet unease. “Though it did not kill me, it took almost all of my reserves of energy to survive. The effort rendered me unconscious. I can only assume that Thor thought me dead and could not spare the time to confirm either way because when I awoke, I was alone on that world.”

“Where’d you go?” Anthony asked, his eyes were open again now, watching with keen interest, “Cos clearly it wasn’t here or else I’d still have several dozen fewer greys.”

Loki smirked and took his hand from Anthony's hair to run his finger along Anthony's beard, “If it’s any consolation, I happen to quite like this hint of silver,” he offered, then laughed and returned his hand to Anthony's hair as Anthony scowled up at him.

“You know I’m starting to reconsider the benefits of atheism,” he grumbled then fidgeted in place and closed his eyes as a yawn over took him, nudging his head against Loki's hand, “Carry on the story.”

Loki took a sip of his drink before continuing, “Well, when I awoke I had my freedom. I knew that now that Thor thought I was dead I was no longer bound to the agreement that would have returned me to my cell once my part in his plot for vengeance was complete, so long as he never found out I was alive. But I had to make sure that so the realms had not fallen in my absence,” Loki said, “I would’ve come straight here, but...”

He stopped himself. This was another truth that his mortal did not deserve to hear right now.

The affairs of Asgard and the frailty of its King was nothing that Anthony need concern himself with, especially while Loki was still considering what to do about the situation. In his brief return to Asgard, he’d sought out Heimdall, knowing the omniscient being would know before most of his survival and would know the location of Thor. He had not expected Heimdall to warn him that the Allfather was reaching the end of his life, and the damage that Frigga's loss had done to him.

When Loki found the Allfather, Odin was neither surprised nor angry to see his former son free, to the point that Loki feared that the Father of the Gods did not recognize him at all.

With the threat of Thanos hanging over them Asgard could not be seen to lose its leader. It needed a strong king. And so Loki had waited on Asgard until he was certain that Thor would be returning. Disguised as Odin, he sat and received the news of his own death from Thor and then offered him the throne, but his brother turned it down. Perhaps he should have told him of Odin's condition but that would have left him exposed. That scent of freedom was too tantalizing to give up so easily. It left him in a situation he really did not want to be in. He’d envisioned his freedom being absolute, not bound to babysitting a dying king. Thankfully, Asgard largely ruled itself, Loki just had to make sure that no one discovered Odin’s weakening state until Thor decided he was ready to take his place or Odin's passing would make the decision for him.

He had hoped to ask Anthony’s advice in time. His wisdom was always welcome and useful but it could wait a night.

“But what?” Anthony asked, tiredly, breaking Loki’s thought process.

“I’ll tell you in the morning, I suspect you would not remember if I told you so close to sleep,” Loki said, easily sidestepping the question.

“You’re not wrong...” he murmured, then shuffled a little, seeming uncertain, “Hey, could you um...do that thing you used to do? It's not exactly been easy to get to sleep recently...”

“Of course.”

Loki held his hand still, settled in Anthony’s hair, fingers spread wide and he reached for the more tranquil arcane threads of the universe. The air chilled a little around his hand as he drew the energy from it, and passed it in the warm comforting waves through Anthony’s mind. Loki caught flashes of the familiar maelstrom that was Anthony’s ever-active thoughts. Images flashed in quick succession: New York, one of his suits flying across the ocean, his friend Pepper held captive, a pieced together image of Loki laying unmoving on the floor of some black world. All fearful and uneasy, as they tended to be.

Loki guided the soothing energy through those thoughts, ordering them, calming them, drawing on those bright memories he knew were there, pulling them from under the ragged pile of fear into the forefront of Anthony’s mind as his magic carefully relaxed his mind and his muscles.

Anthony sighed and Loki felt his weight rest slightly heavier against his thigh.

“Hey Lokes?” Anthony said, his voice barely more than a contented whisper.

“Mm?”

“You’re gonna be here when I wake up right?”

The question was so genuine, laced with trepidation at the answer. Loki set his glass on the low side table, and reached out and slipped his hand into Anthony’s, lacing their fingers together. Even though Anthony’s eyes were closed, Loki nodded, “Not even death could keep me from being here.”

“You’re getting sentimental in your afterlife,” Anthony chastised but a brief, heartfelt smile brushed at his lips in those last few moments before rest overtook him and he felt the man’s grip relax.

Loki tilted his head and smiled down at the sleeping Anthony.

It had been so long since Loki had known any sort of peace he was starting to fear he never would again. But as he reclined into the plush comfort of Anthony’s furniture, his mortal’s calm steady breaths of sleep the only sound in the still air as he enjoyed his earthly whiskey, he finally remembered what serenity could be.


	14. Chapter 14

Tony had no idea how long he’d been asleep, but as he reluctantly blinked awake, he found the ceiling above him bathed in the muted light of dawn. He’d been out for the whole night, a feat he’d not achieved since before the battle of New York.  

There was a fleeting moment of tranquility as he lay there and contemplated this new superpower, before the memories of the night before crashed over him in one emotional tsunami.  

It had all been real, that much was certain. There was no way he would have been able to sleep so soundly without some sort of supernatural help. Not even his own brain was able to make him shake the knowledge that Loki was alive, and apparently a free agent once again. The immediate issue was that the lack of anything solid under his neck and the sensation of soft couch cushion supporting his head indicated that Loki was perhaps not where Tony had left him the night before. 

He arched his neck back, tilting his head uncomfortably to inspect the corner of the sofa that Loki had occupied the night before and found it empty. Before his brain could start ringing false alarm bells, Tony brought its attention to the empty whiskey tumbler balanced on the couch’s arm. Clearly, Loki had been here, the question was where had he slipped off to while Tony was asleep. He’d promised he’d still be here when he woke up.  

Tony levered himself upright on the couch and glanced around with a frown.  

It didn’t take long to spot the figure sat at the end of his landing platform, silhouetted against the pinks and oranges of the morning sky. Suitably aesthetic, Tony thought to himself as he stood and started across the room, stretching his arms up above his head with a yawn, then wincing as a couple of his vertebrae popped and settled back into their proper positions. He’d slept on that couch countless times before but never long enough for it to start to hurting. Maybe he should think about replacing them if this whole “night’s sleep” thing was going to start being a regular occurrence. Or he could just sleep in a bed like a normal human... 

The inane thought was gone by the time he’d reached the doors to the landing platform and pushed them open.  

It was chilly outside, but no more than it always was at dawn 90 stories in the air. The perpetual breeze tugged at his hair and rippled across his loose sweatpants as he paced the platform’s length and he shoved is hands in his pockets to try and keep them warm. Even though he knew his suits would never allow him to hit the ground, there was still something unnerving about the unguarded edge of the platform that kept him close to the middle as he came up behind where Loki was sat.  

If Loki had heard him coming, he made no indication of it. He was sat on the platform, knees up against his chest, arms wrapped loosely around then, the toes of his boots resting just beyond the edge of the platform. The wind nudged at the black curls of his hair that lay on his shoulders and the bottom of his tunic was pooled behind him. 

“You better not be thinking about re-inviting the Chihuahuas,” Tony called over the sound of the breeze.  

Loki chuckled quietly and turned his head a little to call back, “Why? Do you think they would stand a better chance the second time around?” he followed Tony with his eyes as he came parallel with him, “I recall you saying that the only Avengers remaining in the city are you and the green one. The Bulk was it?” 

“I’d be impressed if you could go mano e mano with the  _Hulk_ ,” Tony corrected him as he lowered himself into a cross-legged seat beside him, though the smirk on Loki’s face was enough indication that he knew full well what Bruce’s alter ego was called, “Besides, I’m the only one who actually did anything useful last time. ”  

“Some would say useful, others might prefer suicidal,” Loki commented idly as he returned his attention to the horizon.  

“Potato po-void in space,” Tony looked out over the city, glowing with sunlight reflected across millions of windows. It was one of those beautiful vistas that was worth several hundred thousand just on its own. Sure, Tony appreciated it, but he rarely spent much time basking in it. First and foremost it had been another good excuse to build a tower tall enough to reach the wormhole now nestled somewhere in his penthouse if anyone asked.  Still, he couldn’t help but make a note come out here more often. Once he was settled, he said, “You didn’t keep your promise.” 

“You’ll have to be more specific,” Loki replied, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye.   

“You said you’d be there when I woke up.” 

“Ah, that one...” Loki’s smirk became a smile as he continued to gaze at the horizon, “I’m sorry, it’s been so long since I’ve been able to see a sunrise. I didn’t think you'd appreciate my waking you to let you know.”  

Tony rose an eyebrow at him, “You’ve been out here since dark? Are you not cold?”  

Almost on cue, a cold gust of wind pierced straight through Tony’s admittedly ill-suited attire, sending a shiver over his body, goosepimples in its wake.  

“I’m a being born of ice and snow, Anthony, Midgardian cold does not bother me,” he turned his head ran his eyes lazily over him then offered him one hand palm up, “Here.” 

Tony pretended to eye it suspiciously for a second before he took it. The moment he did, he felt the familiar wave of focused magical energy wash down his arm, over his shoulder and chest, spreading out over his whole body. There was no intense, lingering tingle as there had once been when it used to resonate with his arc reactor, but where the magic had passed it left behind a comforting weight against his skin. Like a thick, fluffy sweatshirt fresh out the dryer, warm and comforting. Suddenly, the wind and cold were no longer an issue.  

“Thanks,” Tony said, as he repositioned his hand so that their fingers knitted together and he brought their hands to rest on his knee.  

“The enchantment will remain if you let go, you know.” 

Tony shrugged and stared out at the city as nonchalantly as possible, resolutely not letting go, “Can’t be too careful.” 

Loki didn’t respond, just smiled a little and brushed his thumb over the back of his hand. 

They fell into a comfortable silence, sharing the brightening morning hand in hand. After a second or so, Loki moved, stretching out one leg over the edge of the platform, swinging it idly, and leaning back on his free hand, his eyes closed, head tilted back to the sky. The only hint of expression was the small content smile resting on his serene face. Tony couldn’t help but smile at the sight. It had been months since he’d seen that expression on his face. He’d come home to it sometimes at Malibu Point once or twice. Find the guy stretched out on his sofa in the workshop, practically bathing in the sound of some classical music he’d just discovered to entertain him in Tony’s absence. It was so long ago that Tony had been worried he’d never see it again. 

“What are you looking at?” Loki asked suddenly without opening his eyes, snapping Tony out of his little trip down memory lane.  

“I was wondering what it was you didn’t want to tell me last night,” Tony said quickly, latching on to the first thing he could think of that wasn’t ‘I was staring at your pretty face’.  

Loki cracked open one eye and regarded him for a moment before closing it again and took a deep breath, “Odin is dying.” 

“Ok, not what I expected...” Tony frowned, then scratched his head, “I don’t mean to offend, but so? Kings and queens die, they just get replaced by their kid, isn’t that how a monarchy works?” 

“It is,” Loki answered with an air of forced neutrality, eyes still closed, “However, Odin is more than just a king. As much as I despise the man, he remains the most powerful being in the Nine Realms and is certainly a contender to the title beyond them. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the relative peace and security found in our little corner of the universe is due largely to his mere presence here. If his rule were to end abruptly and without careful management, that security would be lost.” 

Tony thought for a moment of all of the powerful countries that had risen and fallen on the death of a leader and chaos that had ensued following it. It was a fair point to make. After a second, he realized something, “Thor didn’t say anything about his dad dying. He doesn’t know does he?” 

“Thor doesn’t know,” Loki confirmed, then shrugged one shoulder, “Even if he did, that would not be the end of the problem. As much as he may believe otherwise, Thor is not Odin, and Asgard’s enemies know that. Odin had planned to bring Thor to the throne long before he would need to fully rescind it, the idea being to allow him time to cement himself as a powerful ruler in his own right before Odin’s shadow was lost. Unfortunately, that window of opportunity has now closed. Odin’s mind is failing him, and it would take considerable political skill to convince the universe that it is not. Thor does not have that skill,” Loki heaved a tired sigh, “Not that any of that matters because in a stunningly poorly timed turn of events Thor doesn’t want the throne.” 

“ _You_  asked him?” 

“In a sense.” 

“What does that mean?” Tony asked as he processed the next act of the four-part Shakespeare play that was apparently Loki’s life back home. 

At that, Loki’s green-gold light flashed over him and suddenly Tony was holding hands with a stocky old man. Surprisingly luscious white hair was brushed back over his head in what looked like warrior’s braids, ending in curls on his shoulders. It joined the edges of a thick, white beard to frame a wise, regally wrinkled face, one eye closed as Loki’s had been, the other was covered by a gold patch that seemed to rest in place with no support. After a moment, the man turned his head and open his single eye. 

“You see now how I find myself a uniquely suited if very reluctant regent until Thor decides he is ready to take Odin’s place and I can act as his ‘mentor’ for long enough that the universe is convinced of Thor’s strength. However long that may be...” it wasn’t Loki’s voice that spoke but it certainly was Loki’s tone of barely concealed exasperation.  

"Uh huh...” was all Tony was able to enunciate through his still processing thoughts.  

“It is a reasonable solution, but it is not without its faults,” the old man continued.  

“When is it not?” Tony muttered.  

There was another flash of light and thankfully the God of Mischief was back in his proper place, once again staring into the middle-distance, “The longer ther are two Odin’s in Asgard, the gerater the risk that I am discovered. If I am discovered, then I fear the Asgardian people will side with my history over my intentions. I have an ally in Heimdall though I’m not sure it will be enough to spare me the fate that Odin himself sought after my actions in this very city...” 

Loki didn’t have to say it out loud for Tony understand what that fate might be and it lit some angry fire in his chest. He was sick of the fear and the worry. Why couldn’t they just be left alone? Even just for a week. He looked to their hands linked on his knee, his tanned fingers against Loki’s pale skin. They’d just got this back, he wasn’t going to lose it again.  

“Could you get actual Odin, Odin-A let’s call him, out of Asgard without anyone knowing?” Tony asked before he’d even registered, he’d had the thought. 

Loki brought his attention back to him with a frown as he thought about it, “Possibly...” 

 “Could you get him, say...here?” 

The questioning frown turn incredulous, “You’re suggesting I bring the Allfather himself to your home?" 

“I meant a broader here,” Tony gestured vaguely at the city before them, “Obviously you can bring him through this here if that’s easiest though.”  

Loki pressed his lips together and looked out to the horizon as though looking for whatever it was Tony was supposed to be gesturing at then looked back to him when he couldn’t find it, “Why would I bring him here?” 

“Because no one’s going to be looking for him in New York,” Tony said, and was pleased to note that glimmer of realization in Loki’s eyes, “Then there’d only be one Odin on Asgard and I could, you know, keep an eye on Odin-A. If you’ll pardon the expression.” 

Loki was silent, too deep in thought to appreciate his pun.  

Not a fan of the silence, Tony shrugged and filled it for them, “It’d be no big deal. There’s plenty of places in New York he could stay, I can see a dozen of them from here. It’d be cushy obviously, nothing less than what a king deserves. A pool, spa, that kind of thing. He’d be looked after if he needs it. Left alone if he doesn’t,” Tony’s monologue had drawn his attention out over the city as he glanced between the buildings, but when he brought his gaze back, he found Loki staring at him, looking bemused, “What? Odin-A doesn’t like spas?” 

Loki chuckled and shook his head, smiling, “No. I was simply trying to understand this loyalty to seem to have to me, Anthony. I’ve done so little to earn it.” 

Tony shrugged to cover the mad scramble to find something to respond with, “I don’t like the word loyal, it implies a certain level of deliberate ignorance to flaws that could end up going dangerously unchecked. I’m not a loyal kind of guy.”  

“If not loyalty then I wonder what those feelings you mentioned last night could possibly be?” Loki asked though the knowing half-smile pressed into one cheek as he spoke gave the distinct impression he already had some idea.  

Tony narrowed his eyes at him, trying his best to ignore that soft fluttering nerves in his gut, “I think you know.” 

Loki’s grin threatened to break his poorly maintained mask but he pulled it under control just in time, “I certainly have my suspicions.” 

“You’re gonna make me say it aren’t you?” Tony suddenly wished that thick sweatshirt of magic would drop, just a little. Maybe it would help that growing heat in his cheeks.  

“I would never make you do anything, Anthony, you know that,” Loki said, then leant into him a little, as though about to share a secret, “Though I would very much like to hear you say it.” 

“Oh yeah?” Tony fought to maintain some of that aloof sarcasm, but it was hard to concentrate over the nervous tightness of his stomach and flush of his face. Where the hell had this come from? It wasn’t like he didn’t know how he felt about the guy. Why was this the reaction to just trying it out loud... “What’s in it for me?” 

Loki raised a confident eyebrow, “You may well find the sentiment returned.” 

Well that certainly didn’t help. It was one thing to admit it, it was quite another to hear it said back. From a god no less.  

Tony steeled himself, now just getting annoyed with himself. This was not that hard. He’d probably felt this for weeks, months even, he’d just never been able to do anything with it but bury it. What had it matterd when Loki was light years away?  

But Loki wasn’t light years away anymore. He was inches. Their hands locked together as they’d sat side by side, discussing putting his dad in a home, and watched the freaking sunrise. Jesus Christ, it might as well have been a god damn rom-com.  

“Alright then,” Tony stated firmly. 

Loki’s eyes creased a little as his smile grew but he said nothing, simply watched patiently.  

Tony licked his lips, trying to keep his gaze from dipping from Loki’s. If he was going to do this, he’d at least have the balls to look him in the eye as he did.  

“I think I love you, alright? You asshole. I love you.” 

“My my,” Loki breathed, that grin that had been so close to the surface flickered through once more and he tilted his head again, his eyes glancing down to Tony’s lips for what felt like the longest single second in history before they ticked back up, “Such poetry, Anthony,” he whispered, his words practically dripping with playful sarcasm, ”In all my centuries, I’ve never heard such verse that could sweep a god from his feet so readily.” 

Tony just looked at him flatly.  

Seeing his expression, Loki had to fight his grin again and then schooled his expression into that of a scholarly curiosity as he leant back a little, “Tell me, did you study under Freyja herself? Or was the Godess of Love forced bestowed these words upon you when you bested her in a duel of prose?” 

“I will throw you off this platform,” Tony grumbled but he had to work to make it sound anything close to sincere annoyance as Loki grinned at him, eyes glinting playfully. “Your turn. Say it.” 

Loki considered him, “No, I don’t think I will.” 

Tony’s mouth dropped open, “I’m sorry, what did you say?” 

The dramatically helpless sigh that Loki gave was more than enough evidence that he was still just playing around, “How could I possibly hope to match such a declaration?” he shook his head and sighed again, “Perhaps I should take my leave before I embarrass myself.” 

With that, he slipped his hand free of Tony’s and got gracefully to his feet before Tony had a chance to react. 

Tony turned where he was sat and called after him, “Hey, I see your game. You get back here and admit it!” 

Loki had begun to walk slowly away, but he turned as Tony spoke, taking lazy backwards strides, arms out to his sides in an exaggerated gesture of surrender, “I will, Anthony, I swear. But only once I’ve read far and wide in what will likely be a fruitless endeavor to convey myself as fluently as you.” 

“I wouldn’t worry,” Tony called as he stood and started after him, “I’m taking it all back unless you stop right there.” 

Loki did as he was told, a smirked challenge on his face, “If I don’t return to Asgard soon, it may well fall in my absence, is that what you want?” 

“Asgard smasgard,” Tony answered childishly as he approached Loki, talking as he went, “If you think you’re so good at this whole love thing, how about you tell me how you feel and I’ll decide who did a better job? You should know I’m a world-renowned narcissist so you’ll have to do a damn good-” 

Loki remained still until Tony was within arm’s reach. At which point he reached out and looped one strong arm around Tony’s waist and pulled him flush against him, cutting off both Tony’s words and his thoughts in the process. Loki’s face had softened from that playful, daring smirk to an earnest, relaxed half-smile as he brought his other hand up to rest against Tony’s neck, his thumb just brushed the corner of his jaw 

“I love you, Anthony Stark,” it was a statement of fact spoken with irrefutable confidence leaving no room for even the slightest hint of argument. “I have loved you for a long time. You don’t know this but I have always considered you my mortal, but I only realized what that truly meant the day you saved me from that scepter, and then from myself. You are the light I follow as the universe around be tries to pull me into the darkness. You are my sanctuary and my beacon, shining as gold as the metal that lines your suit and your spirit. My brilliant mortal who time and again would rather stare death in the face than to see those he cares for come to harm,” he paused a moment and sighed, “Anthony, you are everything I wish I could be and I would fight my battles a million times over if they brought me back here every time.” 

Tony had been speechless from the moment he heard those first words. He’d not heard them a lot in his life outside a screaming fan in the street. It wasn’t exactly the same to hear them like this. He didn’t have the lexicon to described how incredibly it made him feel. Every word after that just repeatedly knocked the wind from him until he found himself hypnotized in Loki’s earnest gaze as the guy recited something that genuinely could have been a gift from the goddess of love if there was one.  

How was it so easy for Loki where it was so hard for him? Tony brushed those thoughts aside. That was an introspective deep dive he wasn’t sure he was ready for right now. This moment was too good to ruin it with any thoughts of his own damage. 

“How did I compare?” Loki said after a moment of silence, that smirk having firmly returned. 

Tony swallowed, hoping to find his tongue somewhere down his throat. It took a second of reeling, but it was there. “Ok, well I think knowing Allspeak is an unfair advantage but you did fine I guess...” 

“Very well, I will have to try harder next time,” Loki laughed then tilted his head a little, “Sadly, I really must return to Asgard. Heimdall agreed to keep an eye of things while I came here, but it is still a fragile truce that I shouldn’t test just yet.” 

Tony exhaled, not bothering to hide the disappointment. They were well beyond that now, “Ok fine, you go rule a realm, I’ll be here I guess.” 

“I’ll be back before you know it, I swear,” Loki offered a warm, confident smile and then leant in for that kiss Tony had been waiting for.  

It was quick and chaste, but that didn’t matter in the slightest. It just felt so...easy. It wasn’t weighted by fear or overwhelming disbelief or debilitating uncertainty. It was a nonchalant goodbye between two people who could be confident it would not be their last. As though Loki was doing but nothing but hopping on a train to the office or nipping out to get milk or whatever else mundane couples might do.  

Holy shit. Had he just used the words ‘couples’? Loki hadn’t been back 24 hours and he was already throwing the word couple around. And what was stranger was he was comfortable with it. 

“I’ll see you soon, Anthony,” Loki said quietly, “And next time won’t be so rushed.” 

With that unspoken promise, Loki took a step back to give him one last lingering once over, smirked to himself then turned and strode for the Penthouse door.  

Tony didn’t move. Just stuffed his hands in his pockets against and followed the guy with his eyes. He watched as Loki went into the Penthouse and headed for the spot he’d first appeared in last night. But as he passed Tony’s bar, he paused. He glanced up at Tony through the glass wall, smirked at him, plucked one of the bottles of whiskey from the bar top and promptly vanished from Earthly existence.  

That bastard had just taken his best bottle. It was a good thing he loved him or else there may have been dire consequences. 

The idle thought passed so nonchalantly across his mind that it took a second to register and when it did, Tony muttered an exasperated swear word then laughed to himself.  

“Hey Jarvis!” he called as he jogged for the door, clapping his hands together as he went, “Wakey wakey buddy!” 

“How can I help sir?” the clipped voice answered as he stepped back inside.  

“You remember the Ding Dong array?”  

“I thought I heard Loki’s voice,” Jarvis responded, “Will he be returning?” 

“He certainly will, and I won’t be taken surprise this time.”  

Tony grinned as the room began to fill with the bright blue line works of the bit of old tech, a new hope lighting in his chest. It was starting to looking like, just maybe, there might be a light at the end of the dingy tunnel the two of them had been stuck in for too long.  

Tony would be damned if he wasn’t about to fight tooth and nail to reach it.  


	15. Chapter 15

It had been a long time since Tony had visited the warehouses. He hadn't had much use for them since his former company had lost the need to stockpile vast stores of weaponry in case they needed to capitalize on any war that broke out. Now they sat mostly empty save for the odd remnant of projects that Tony had started and never finished for one reason or other. The staff had once been a retinue of engineering technicians to keep the stores in working order and guards who were only a couple of questionable jobs away from being hired mercenaries. Since Stark Industry’s revamp, they’d been swapped out for a couple of run of the mill security guards, mostly just to make sure kids weren’t vandalizing the building. The two duty that afternoon had been more than happy to take the rest of the day as paid leave when Tony had pulled up a few minutes earlier.  

Once he was sure they’d cleared out, Tony leant on the bonnet of the Rolls Royce parked on the edge of the open field that was the former helicopter landing pad, arms crossed, peering up at a cloudy sky tinted yellow through his glasses, curiously wondering whether weather could affect Bifrost accuracy. Loki was late. 

It had been less than a day before Loki had returned the Penthouse to agree to Tony’s proposition to arrange for Odin to be harbored in New York City. It hadn’t exactly given Tony much time to present him with options for where exactly he could take up residence for the duration. Tony’s second bedroom was not about to be an option.  

Despite his claim that he didn't care, Loki took a significant amount of time looking through what little information Tony had pulled together before choosing, and then Tony had made the arrangements on his behalf.  

Then it was a matter of working out how to get Odin to Midgard without anyone clocking on. After some discussion, it was agreed that bringing him through Stark Tower wasn't a good idea. Loki would be able to disguise both himself and Odin, but there was just too many people around who might ask one too many questions about Tony’s two guests. Besides, Loki had been loudly averse to the prospect of trying to navigate his usual corridors to Tony’s Penthouse with Odin in tow. Without going into too much detail on arcane sorcery, Loki just told him it was difficult enough to take someone willing through a wormhole, let alone someone who wasn’t too sure what was going on half the time.  

In the end, their answer came from a more conventional means of inter-dimensional transport. Loki had already discussed the idea of the godly retreat with Heimdall and he seemed pretty certain he could convince him to use the Bifrost. Odin was familiar enough with it not to react poorly to its use and it had the advantage of being able bring people anywhere they wanted. Obviously, a giant column of light smashing down outside a care home in Chelsea might raise a couple of eyebrows, but the barely used warehouse complex seemed close enough to perfect.  

Tony had some early plans around redeveloping the place into a purpose-built facility for the Avengers Initiative, but until then it was never paid much mind by anyone important. Anyone in the area who happened to see the Bifrost over the horizon would just wave it off as just Mysterious Avengers Stufftm and that would be that.   

It had seemed like a largely fool proof plan, until Tony tried to get hold of a car that would be suitable for transporting two Asgardians. Who would’ve thought that in a convoluted plan to smuggle the King of the Gods across two realms without anyone finding out, it would be trying to get access to his own car that was the glitch? 

“So, what are we doing here, Boss?” Happy asked curiously, wandering over to lean beside him hands in pockets, having satisfied himself that there was nothing that was going to answer his question in the immediate vicinity.   

_“_ First of all, I’m not your boss anymore Happy, keep that for Pep,” Tony replied, still inspecting the sky, “Secondly,  _we’re_ not doing anything.  _I’m_ here to because I’m doing someone a favor and I didn't exactly want it to be a public forum.” He turned his head to  regard  Happy over the top of his glasses, “ _You’re_  here because you're too attached to the Rolls to let it out of your sight for an hour and I didn’t have time to argue with you.” 

“You never drive the Rolls, I wanted to make sure you'd look after it...” Happy mumbled the quiet argument he’d been using for the entire morning. 

“It’s my car, Happy,” Tony snapped, then immediately regretted it as Happy dropped his gaze to the ground. Tony puffed his cheeks out and exhaled to calm himself a bit, “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. Well no. It is my car, but I don’t care you use it. You've just chosen a pretty poor day to insist on bodyguard duties again, that’s all.” 

Happy shuffled uncertainly on the spot as he looked back to him, “Why? What’s the favor?”” 

Tony checked his watch to cover the soft grumble of nerves in his stomach. He’d tried everything he could to convince Happy not to come along to the Odin handover, but after a solid thirty-minute discussion, Tony ran out of time.  

He wasn’t worried about Happy finding out. At the end of the day, he would rather bring Happy into the circle of trust and ask him to keep a secret than have him casually bring up in conversation with Pepper or whoever that Tony had needed the Rolls for some undisclosed reason. Tony did a lot of weird stuff, but that would be just out of the ordinary to start questions being asked. Besides, for a variety of mushy reasons, Tony didn’t  _want_ to keep Loki a secret in the long term.  

He just wasn’t sure Loki would agree with his ‘honesty is the best policy’ policy. 

“It’s a long story,” Tony said eventually, looking up over the field in front of them, “You remember when those aliens attacked New York City?” 

Happy frowned at him, “It's not exactly something you forget.” 

Tony took a deep breath. Time to rip the plaster off. “Well, I’m meeting the guy who brought them here, and we’re taking his adoptive dad to a care home.” 

There was an appropriate beat of disbelieving silence so stark that Tony could swear he heard a cricket chirping somewhere nearby.  

When Tony turned his head to look at Happy, the guy was staring at him, mouth open a little. Tony held his gaze until Happy seemed to process what Tony had said fully and scowled to the floor, folding his arms across his chest, “Are we working for the bad guys now, boss?” 

Tony couldn’t help but smile fondly at the immediate acceptance. Of course, he wouldn’t question it, Happy was one of his best friends, he’d follow him to the end of world. “This isn’t the old days, Happy, there’s no working for the bad guys anymore. Not that Lokes is a bad guy.” 

Before Happy had the chance to respond to the casual drop of the mention that they were on a nickname basis, the Bifrost...happened for lack of a better descriptor.  

Tony had only ever seen footage of the huge beam of glimmering energy, and none of it had done it justice. One moment the world was quiet, calm. The next, the world seemed to explode with light as the Bifrost slammed into the ground with physical force Tony hadn’t expected. It answered the question he’d once pondered about how the Bifrost could be used to destroy a realm. A shockwave kicked up ring of dust and dirt and blasted it out in a cloud around it. Tony screwed his face up and turned it away instinctively.  

The bright light and the swirling air only lasted for a second before they faded, leaving two figures in its wake.  

Loki was dressed in his formal leather coat trimmed in gold rivets and broadened with matching shoulder pads, that Tony hadn't seen him wear in months. Tony tried to pinpoint the guy’s expression, but he couldn’t see it over the distance. 

Beside him stood Odin-A.  Loki’s copy of him had been accurate. White hair, white beard, gold eyepatch. He was a couple of inches shorter than Loki, but he was no less imposing, even forty feet away.  

“I thought you were joking...” Happy muttered disbelievingly beside him.  

“Like I said, long story," Tony said flatly, those nerves suddenly spiking at the sight of Loki in full Asgardian attire. It had been a while since he’d worn anything other than the equivalent of a t-shirt and sweat pants, Tony had almost forgotten the level of power the guy could simply exude just by standing right. After a moment, Tony pressed his lips together and clapped a hand on Happy’s shoulder, “Hang on a sec while I make sure he's not mad.” With that, Tony came out of his lean and stepped out on to the grass. 

“Mad about what?” Happy asked hurriedly after him. 

Tony turned a little as he walked, just pointing at the ground where Happy was stood, “Just wait there.” 

Seeing the movement, Loki placed a hand on Odin’s shoulder, said something Tony couldn’t hear, and began to stride out to meet him. Odin stayed where he was.  

Tony held his hands up, palms forward as they met halfway, “Look, I know what you're going to say.”  

Loki had been watching Happy over Tony’s shoulder on his short walk but brought his gaze down on Tony with a raised eyebrow in that irritatingly good poker face. “Is that so?”  

“I don't have many cars with more than two seats and it just so happened, he had the keys to only practical one and as my former head of security, he's a can be...paranoid when I start doing things out of the ordinary. I don’t really drive the four-seater cars so then he insisted on coming, and I didn’t have time to argue and-" Tony been so keen to get through the explanation he'd been practicing, he’d been glancing around anywhere but Loki's face, worried about what he'd see.  

But when he finally made eye contact, he found that poker face had been cracked by an amused curl to the corner of his lip.  

Tony huffed and deflated, “You knew he'd be here didn't you?”  

“Heimdall told me before he activated the Bifrost, he wanted to know whether it was still a good idea,” Loki allowed his smile to break through as he looked in Happy’s direction again, but thankfully there was no malice there, “Based on his description I presumed this to be the famous Happy Hogan.” 

Tony glanced over his shoulder to see Happy squirm a little under their joint gazes, “That is the famous Happy,” he told him, then turned back to Loki, “He's a good guy. I quite literally trust him with my life.” 

“I know,” Loki said, “I'm just surprised that you'd risk your reputation to acknowledge our association.”  

Tony rose an eyebrow, “I think you're overestimating my reputation. They used to call me the Merchant of Death you know. Plus, I'm about to secretly harbor a dying god on the request of the guy who tried to take over the world that one time,” Tony pointed out and was pleased to see Loki laugh quietly, and he found himself mirroring with a smile before he motioned to Odin, “Speaking of which.”  

Loki took a deep breath and his mirth faded as he turned to look at Odin, “He is lucid enough at the moment, thankfully. Heimdall and I have explained what is happening, and he seemed to understand, though there’s no telling for how much longers. I’ve placed a small enchantment on him for this next leg of the journey. I don’t think the Allfather has ever been in a car and there would be no way to force him into it if he decided it was an experience he didn’t want.” 

"How long will it last?”  

“A couple of hours at most,” Loki told him, then nodded at Odin who started towards them on the cue, “He’ll understand everything you say, but don’t expect him to feel the need to respond.” 

There was a moment of quiet as they waited for Odin to approach. Loki pulled his shoulders back as he came to a stop beside him, like a soldier at attention his commanding officer, “Anthony Stark, allow to introduce you to Odin Borson, Allfather, King of Asgard, and Protector of the Nine Realms.” 

Odin brought his one eye down on Tony, narrowing it with scrutiny. He may not have been quite as tall as Loki but he still had several inches on Tony and was as broad as Thor. There was a weight to his gaze that made Tony shuffle. This guy was the most powerful being in Tony’s immediate universe and despite his apparent current condition, it showed. Suddenly finding himself at a loss for words, Tony gave an awkward nod of the head in greeting. 

“This is Anthony Stark, one of Midgard’s Mightiest” Loki introduced him, formally, bring his hand up to rest on Odin’s shoulder again.  

Odin regarded Tony a moment longer then his features relaxed completely and lost interest, returning to glancing around absently. 

"Shall we move things along?” Loki said when Odin didn’t deign to respond. 

“Yeah, course,” Tony muttered quickly, glancing worriedly between Odin and Loki, then nodded his head toward the Rolls parked a little way off, “They know we’re coming. Everything’s ready.” 

Tony turned and led the two of them back towards the car.  

Seeing them approach, Happy’s old bodyguard senses activated and he moved to open the back doors of the car then backed off a few feet as the two gods approached. Loki nodded his head in silent appreciation as he guided Odin past him to the open door. The Allfather tilted his head at the car almost curiously before getting in without a word. Loki leant down to speak to him, but Tony couldn’t hear what they were saying from where and Happy were stood a couple of yards back.  

“How're you doing?” Tony asked, watching Loki and Odin talk.  

“I just held the door open for a guy who tried to destroy New York,” Happy answered in a hushed voice as he leant in slightly, “I'm not doing great.” 

Tony offered a smile as he pushed his hands in his pockets, “Yeah thought that’d be the case. If it’s any consolation, he already knew who you were.” 

“Why would that be a consolation, Tony?” Happy hissed.  

Tony shrugged, “He knows I trust you to keep this hush hush for now,” he paused and looked at him pointedly, “I can trust you to keep this hush hush can’t I?”  

Happy was quiet for a long moment before he sighed, “I guess...” 

Tony grinned, “You were always my favorite bodyguard.”  

Loki shut the door on Odin and came to join them. Happy seemed to instinctively back away but if Loki noticed he didn't address it.  

“Thank you once again for doing this, truly,” Loki said solemnly to Tony. 

“Don't mention it,” Tony smiled, motioned to Happy, “It's not going to be as impressive an introduction as yours was but Lokes, this is Happy, former bodyguard and current head of security at Stark Industries. Hap, this...is Loki, one-time alien invader, now King Regent of Asgard.”  

Loki shot Tony a dark look to which Tony smirked, then turned his gaze to Happy and extended a hand, offering a small, disarming smile, “I’ve heard a lot about you, Sir Hogan.” 

Happy glanced at Tony uncertainly before reaching out to shake the offered hand, his knuckles going white as he squeezed as hard as he possibly could while they shook. Tony could only hope that Loki didn’t decide to do the same. 

“Yeah...you too,” Happy said, simply. 

Loki swallowed almost imperceptibly under his mask of formal courtesy and he let go of Happy’s hand, leaving it in one uncrushed piece, “I'm sure.” 

There was an awkward pause as they eyed each other before Tony clapped his hands together, and drew their attention, “Now that's out the way, let’s saddle up, they’re expecting you.” 

With one final lingering glance at Loki, Happy headed for the driver's door. Loki and Tony shared a smile before splitting up, the former headed for the empty space beside Odin and the latter headed for the as yet uncharted territory of the front passenger seat. 

Once settled, Tony twisted in his seat so he could see the Asgardians in the back. Odin was peering disinterestedly out of the window, but Loki met his gaze.  

“I would like to request that you don’t play around with the buttons back there,” Tony said, “I can’t guarantee at least two of them won’t activate some sort of explosive." 

“You’re asking me to keep my hands to myself?” Loki rose an amused eyebrow, “Makes a change.” 

“For now,” Tony smirked in return then turned back to face the front, only to see Happy staring at him with a concerned frown from the driver’s seat. “It's a  _very_  long story. Now get going. We’re going to Shady Acres Care Home, Chelsea.” 

Happy stared at him for a moment longer, then took a deep breath and started up the car.  

The journey back to the city was uneventful.  

Occasionally, Tony could hear Loki say something quietly to Odin, but there was never a response. Happy would glance at them in the rear-view mirror every now and then as though expecting them to blow up at any moment, but said nothing. Tony took the time to call the care home, giving them a head’s up that, as discussed, his friend’s uncle was on his way to check in for his indefinite stay with them. Naturally, they were more than prepared. Tony had already double and tripled checked the day before. 

It was about thirty minutes before they pulled up outside the building, Happy bringing the car to a stop on the street outside the entrance. 

Tony turned in his seat to Loki once they'd stopped, “This is the place.” 

Loki was peering out of the window, inspecting the building silently. There was an odd look on his face that Tony couldn’t quite place.  

“When you go in, just give them my name and his name, they won’t be asking any other questions,” Tony told him, “There might be a couple of things to sign. If they ask about belongings then just tell them they’ll be along later. I'll source some Earth clothes,” he trailed off as he tried to think of anything else Loki needed to know. 

Loki leant back from the window gave Tony a rare look of confusion, “Are you not coming?” 

“A problem that comes with being one of Midgard’s Mightiest is that people will recognize me,” Tony stated, “People might know  _of_  you but no one is going to think you’re  _the Loki,_  you’re not going to pull any attention going in there with Odin. But add me into the mix and all it takes is someone snapping a quick candid and getting it up on the internet,” he shrugged, “It probably wouldn’t be long before it got back to SHIELD.” 

"A characteristically humble explanation as always,” Loki replied, then looked out the window again. 

“Just stating the facts,” he gave Loki a once over, “Saying that, those outfits might just draw attention. 

Loki glanced down at himself then at Odin, thought a moment then reached out to lay a hand on Odin’s arm. The green light flashed down over them both simultaneously, head to toe, replacing the Asgardian leathers and heavy cloth with suit jackets and trousers. Loki had returned to his funeral attire, but Tony decided now wasn’t the time to bring it up. Thankfully, the clothes he chose for Odin were a little more casual, and familiar. It was grey linen suit and pink tie combination that Tony was sure he’d had tucked away in his wardrobes at Malibu Point before it had all collapsed into the ocean. Tony was flattered that Loki deemed it suitable to dress a king.  

“Better?” Loki asked. 

Tony nodded, “It’ll do.” 

“Then I shall return shortly.” 

With that, Loki got out of the car, and Tony watched him through the rear window as he walked around the back and stopped beside Odin’s side, opening the car door and stepping back. Odin looked at Loki then brought his eye on Tony. There was a sudden clarity and focus to his gaze that meant Tony had to fight to hold it. After a long moment, Odin gave a single, meaningful nod, and stepped out of the open door.  

The door shut and Tony settled back into the seat with a sigh. It had gone a lot better than he’d expected.  

“So...” Happy started, interrupting his brief consideration of relaxation, “You want to explain what the hell is going on?” 

Tony rose his eyebrows, and inhaled apprehensively as he leant his head back against the headrest, “I do want,” he started slowly, hoping the explanation would come as he spoke, “I’m just trying to figure out where to start.” 

Happy narrowed his eyes “Are you in trouble?”  

Tony lifted his head from the rest to scowl at him, “No.” 

Happy eyed him then leant in and whispered, “Mind-controlled?” 

Tony leant in to him in return and whispered dramatically, “He can’t hear you from here, Happy,” then he sat upright, “And no. There’s no mind-control.” 

“Well that’s what someone who was mind-controlled  _would_  say,” Happy pointed out, sitting upright but still suspicious, “Prove you’re not.” 

“And how to you propose I do that Happy?” Tony asked, but Happy just continued to scowl at him so Tony rolled his eyes, “If I was being mind-controlled do you really think I’d have let you tag along just because you decided we have joint custody of my car?” 

Happy thought about it for a moment, “Maybe not,” he said but sounded only a little less wary.  

“Look, I’ve known Loki for...woah, a couple of years now. He popped up out of the blue literally same day I announced the Iron Man suit to the world,” Tony explained, surprised at the realization of how long ago it seemed since he’d gone downstairs to find Loki wandering around the workshop, “He stuck around. Like a solid 25% of that new tech was only possible because he was smuggling space rocks to me every now and then. Then he helped me through that palladium issue, tried to help me cure it.” 

“Then he tried to destroy New York,” Happy added.  

Tony closed his eyes and wobbled his head a little, “That’s...complicated, but long story short, through a combination of torture and actual mind-control he was convinced that it was good idea. Then when he realized it wasn’t, he tried to stop it. Ask Nat if you really want, she was there.” 

Happy lost a little of the tension that was in his shoulders, suspicion replaced by confusion, “Then why all the secrecy?” 

“Because, not everyone trusts my judgement like you do Happy,” Tony paused then wrinkled his nose, “And for a lot of convoluted reasons, everyone but me, you and an omniscient bridge attendant thinks he’s dead it needs to stay that way for as long as possible.” 

Happy’s expression didn’t change, “Uh huh...” 

“He’s my friend, Hap,” Tony summarized, “I trust him.” 

“And that hands comment earlier,” Happy said, “That was just a  _friendly_ sexual tension that made me incredibly awkward, was it?” 

“We’ve been through a lot alright,” Tony said, evasively, shrugging and looking out the window, “Things...happen.” 

Happy just raised his eyebrow, “Things?” 

Tony huffed and looked back to him, “If you want to get middle-school about it, I guess we’re...together.” 

Happy sat back a bit in his seat silently processing.  

Movement out the corner of Tony’s eye caught his attention and Tony turned to see Loki emerge from the entrance of Shady Acres alongside a woman Tony recognized as the manager, who was smiling warmly at him as they continued a discussion. 

“How about you come back to the Penthouse, just talk to him,” Tony said quickly, watching Happy for a response, keen to get this through before Loki got back in the car, “See for yourself.” 

Happy pressed his lips into a thin line as he side-eyed Tony, then past him out of the window in Loki’s direction. After a second he gave a defeated sigh, “Fine. But I swear to god if you’re lying to me and I get thrown through some vortex to space, I’m never gonna forgive you.” 

“Fair enough,” Tony grinned at him. 

The sound of the car door opening and closing made him twisted in his seat to see Loki back in his place.  

“All sorted?”  

“I believe so,” Loki said, uncharacteristically wistfully as he continued to peer out of the car window, “The reign of Odin Borson reaches its functional end.” 

Tony hesitated, a small frown on his face, “You alright?”  

Loki exhaled and sat back in his seat, giving Tony a smile that had a less than reassuring tiredness to it, “I will be.” 

“I thought you hated the guy. Be glad to see him go,” it was more of a question than a statement. 

“As did I,” Loki swallowed back some undisclosed emotion and covered it with a soft chuckle, “Funny isn't it? I grew up being told I would be a king one day. Just...not like this.” 

Tony's chest tightened and he wanted to reach out and comfort him, but now wasn't the time. Not while Happy was still present, “How long are you staying for?” 

“A day, perhaps two,” Loki said, disinterestedly looking out the window again.  

“So, you’ll be coming back to the Tower for a drink?” Tony asked, with an undisguised hope in his question.  

A bit of that strength returned to his smile, “Yes, please.” 

“Then let’s not sit here lamenting any longer,” Tony said, facing forward again and pointing out the front window, “Onwards!” 

Without needing any verbal instruction, Happy started the car and joined the traffic, setting off towards the Tower.  


	16. Chapter 16

It had been a long time since Loki had experienced anything close to a routine. Even before the destruction of the Bifrost, his life had been largely an erratic series of whims of varying strengths that pulled him across the universe until some royal duty would force him back to Asgard. That had changed a little after he’d found himself in Anthony’s workshop, but only in that he made it a regular stop off in his travels.   

A king’s life was rather different to a Prince's. Asgard was an efficient realm and though it had the governance set up to basically run itself, Loki still found himself having to set aside several hours every other day or so to sit and pass judgement where no one else was able or willing. He'd found some amusement in making those inconsequential decisions largely arbitrarily, as well as commissioning an unreasonably varied swathe of things to honor his own ‘death’, once his mother had been appropriately memorialized of course. Even so, it remained unbearably dull. Loki had actually started to feel some measure of empathy for the warmongering kings of old. Picking fights would certainly have alleviated the boredom for a little while.  

Thankfully, Loki had Stark Tower to keep his mind from stagnating into colonialism as his ancestors’ once had. 

Anthony’s Tower was undergoing major redevelopment. The top few floors were being converted into something of a command center the Avengers, though the only one Loki knew to be present most of the time was Bruce Banner. The others tended to be on business elsewhere. Anthony himself had started yet another new major project with which he would make his world a little safer. The Iron Legion, he called it and from his brief description, it seemed to be a global and automated version of the House Party Protocol he'd not so recently destroyed. It was an interesting idea, though Loki did question how he was planning on building and controlling what would equate to several thousand iron man suits on that scale, but his mortal had just muttered ‘working on it’ and continued scribbling numbers in the air. Loki had chuckled gone back to the book he’d been reading.  

When Anthony’s attention span met a rare bump and the labs were otherwise unoccupied, he would present Loki with one of an apparently endless list of tests of his magical abilities. Stand out examples included challenging him with dismantling one of the prototype Iron Legionaries, which when Loki had done so with brute force alone, Anthony had rather disappointedly muttered ‘cheater' and set about reinforcing the joints. And more recently, Anthony had started to develop building materials he hoped might act as arcane shielding, arguing that if Loki could sit as an invisible projection and spy on them from across the galaxy, who's to say a more nefarious being may do the same. Current trials were about as successful as Loki had expected given his experience of being kept from seeing something in such a way, which was to say not very.  

Still, Loki felt no need to hold back. One of the many things he loved about Anthony was that he had the tenacity of Jotun. Every time something failed, he'd simply glower at it, sniff and start over. He didn't know the meaning of the word quit. Loki shuddered to think where he would be if he did. 

The redevelopment of the Tower was eventually completed, and the warehouse conversion was started, using the various materials the two had developed. The Iron Legion was up and running in prototype form. Thor returned and though he did return  Asgard briefly he was none the wiser as to Loki's presence, simply announced the Reality Stone was safe, wished his father well, and returned to Midgard to reside with Jane and his new Avengers friends. There had been a quiet pang of jealousy at the notion that Thor was able to live the life that Loki dreamed of, unhindered by the obligations that were rightly his but, frankly it was a sensation he was growing used to. 

It was a couple of months before Anthony told him that he had to go to Washington for a while. Some major issues with the organization known as SHIELD, he explained briefly. He had assured Loki it was nothing to worry about, he just wouldn’t be in the Tower for a while. Naturally, Loki did worry but respected Anthony's wish that he remained uninvolved.  

Without his usual Midgardian retreat, Loki had to find a new way to entertain himself. It was in his pursuit of distraction that took him to the deepest depths of the vaults of Asgard, where he came across the one artifact that might just serve that purpose.  

The Tesseract was no more guarded than the vault itself, and the two guards stationed at its entrance weren't going to be quibbling the word of Odin himself when he removed it for ‘further study'. Thanos had taught him some of what it could do in preparation for him using it to bring the Chitauri to Earth but he had always suspected that his teachings had been deliberately limited. So, while Anthony was busy with his Midgardian affairs, Loki set himself the task of learning the Tesseract and the Space Stone within it.  

Just touching it made the very molecules around him feel like water. Water that could be parted and moved through with no more effort than swimming. He'd been worried it would take months, if not years to learn its secrets but the Stone seemed to give them up at the slightest query. It wanted to be used. Loki could step from one end of Asgard's halls to the other in a cloud of crackling blue-grey smoke with ease. From the Observatory to his rooms. From one end of the realm to the other.  

It helped pass time in the otherwise dull cycle of regency but it didn’t allay the quiet murmur of concern that came with the knowledge that must have been at least a couple of weeks Midgardian weeks since he’d last seen Anthony. But he’d given his word and he would keep it. 

It was both a relief and a worry when Heimdall sent word that he needed to see him at the Bifrost Observatory.  

The ride over the bridge was always beautiful, so long as he ignored the soft twist in his stomach that always came at the unbidden memories of the time he was here as nothing more than a disgraced Prince. He could have Stepped (as he’d decided to refer to it) to the Bifrost, but the more time he could drag out of this visit and avoid his daily duties the better. He reined Sleipnir to a halt shortly before the golden room where Heimdall held his perpetual vigil. The man himself was stood as he always seemed to, staring out into void of space, embellished in his golden armor, hands resting on Hofund’s hilt as its point just touched the floor.  

Loki dropped Odin’s form as he dismounted and stepped into the room. It must have been close to a day since he’d been in his own familiar form.   

“I assume this is urgent,” he said idly, rubbing his now smooth cheeks with both hands, relishing the sudden absence of that infuriating itch, “I had to cancel a meeting with the agricultural council to come here.” 

“I’m sure you’re devastated,” Heimdall responded flatly, not turning as Loki came up to stand beside him.  

“They’ll just have to decide on next year’s crop rotation without my sage wisdom,” Loki sighed dramatically, staring out into space wondering as always just what Heimdall could see in place of this endless pinpricked darkness, “What is it you’ve seen?” 

“Anthony Stark has returned to his tower, the Avengers and Thor alongside him,” Heimdall stated.  

The statement brought an uncertain frown to Loki’s face as he turned his head to look at Heimdall, questioningly, “I appreciate you letting me know, but I didn’t think you considered my personal life to be important enough to draw Odin from his royal duties. Even if they are immensely uninteresting.” 

Heimdall turned and met his gaze, eyes almost glowing, “They are in possession of the Scepter.” 

Loki swallowed hard against an unexpected spike of emotion. He’d barely thought about the Scepter for a long time. It hadn’t been mentioned, not even on Midgard except in the early days when Anthony would joke about playing around with it. Heimdall’s words hit hard. The wall he’d meticulously built up in his mind around the echoes of its whispers that remained shuddered a little under its blow, but it held.  

"I thought that might be a little more pertinent than crop rotation,” Heimdall continued, unaware or uninterested in Loki’s reaction. Loki suspected it was the latter. 

“I can only assume they have decided to try to find a way to force some use from it,” Loki spoke gravely, forcing a note of neutrality into his voice. 

“All I saw was that your man intends to use it to manipulate a small battalion of machines,” Heimdall returned his golden gaze to the void. 

“The Iron Legion,” Loki said quietly, the realization bringing with it an uneasy twist to his gut, “If there is any of Thanos’s influence remaining in that Scepter it cannot be used to control Midgard’s defense force,“ he scowled, “Thor allowed this?” 

“He doesn’t know Stark’s intentions. Thor simply wanted to take a few days of rest and celebration before returning the Scepter here.” 

“Of course, you would have given me plenty of warning of Thor’s return even if you weren’t concerned about the Scepter,” Loki rose his eyebrow at Heimdall.  

Heimdall turned his head to look at him and Loki could swear he could see the smallest hint of a smile, “I warn you of everything I need to.” 

For a brief second, Loki considered passing some sort of ‘Heimdall is a traitor’ decree, but settled for narrowing his eyes and reminding himself this wasn’t important right now. He took a deep breath and looked back out into space, “I need to speak with Anthony. Make him see the risks of what he’s doing.” 

“All of the Avengers, including Thor, are in the Tower,” Heimdall warned, “Bruce Banner is working with him in their laboratories as we speak.” 

“Then I shall have to do so subtly,” Loki retorted and made the series of motions required to reach into his pocket dimension and pulled the Tesseract from it with a flash of light. 

There was no small amount of satisfaction in the disapproving look on Heimdall’s face as he eyed the cube but said nothing. 

“Feel free to stand in while I’m gone,” Loki told him, holding the Tesseract in one hand and preparing himself for the as yet untested attempt at inter-realm travel, “Your first act should be to pick the vegetables to grow in the northern reaches. Pick whatever you like. So long as it isn’t beets.”  

With that, Loki Stepped out of Asgard.  

* 

The Tesseract worked perfectly.  

Loki Stepped out of the smoke cloud into Anthony’s darkened Penthouse. The man himself wasn’t there but it was the one place Loki knew there was no risk of encountering anyone while Anthony was in his labs. His next challenge was getting down there. He knew the way, he and Anthony had spent a lot of time down there in their time together, but he’d only ever done so in Anthony’s presence. Navigating the series of locked doors that could only be unlocked by Jarvis himself would might be a little more difficult on his own.  

In a few complicated motions, Loki returned the Tesseract to its hiding place and took on the form of Happy Hogan.  

Since his changing forms was more substantial than just an illusion, Anthony had yet to find a way to show Jarvis that Loki was still Loki no matter what he looked like. The former bodyguard/driver was the only one of Anthony’s friends that Loki knew well enough to imitate accurately and he it was a fairly safe gamble that such person would have a heightened level of security access.  

When the elevator doors opened without question, he knew his gamble had paid off.  

It took a little longer than Loki would have liked to find his way to the lab. Though no one had questioned his presence, the fewer people who found out ‘Happy Hogan’ was in the building the better so he stuck to the less frequented passages. The last thing he wanted to come across one of the Avengers, especially his former brother who had an irritating habit of seeing through him at the least opportune moments. 

When he eventually came to the entrance to the laboratory, it didn’t open at his approach as all the others had. Probably for the best, given he didn’t know what was on the other side of it. Instead, he cleared his throat and asked Jarvis to pass on the message that Happy Hogan was looking for ‘Tony’. 

After a few seconds, the door slid open and the man himself appeared. He was dressed for a long stint locked in the lab, hair tussled at odd angles where he must have repeatedly run his hands through it. On seeing ‘Happy’ he paused in the doorway momentarily, allowing Loki to see into the room behind for a second. Bruce Banner frowned in their direction then went back to the clipboard he was holding. The sight of the Scepter held vertical in some sort of forcefield, made Loki inhale reactively and he clenched his jaw.  

Thankfully, Anthony stepped out of the doorway and the door closed automatically behind him, breaking his line of sight.   

“Hey, Hap,” Anthony greeted with a note of uncertainty. Clearly, Happy Hogan’s presence here was not as expected to him as it was to the average person in the Tower. “Didn't know you were in town. Everything…alright?” his eyes widened and his stance shifted suddenly as a new thought occurred to him, “Oh god, is Pepper alright?”  

“I'm sure she's fine,” Loki replied in, Happy’s voice, though he wasn’t too concerned with getting the tone right.  

Anthony had less than a second to think about berating the bodyguard for the blasé response before Loki dropped his form. That beginning of a scowl that had been forming dissipated instantly. 

“Lokes...“ Anthony breathed, then quickly glanced over his shoulder at the closed door, checking it was still closed, though Loki didn’t know whether it was to check Bruce Banner couldn’t see out or so that Loki couldn’t see in. He turned back and took half a step closer, whispering urgently, “What the  _hell_ are you doing here?”  

Loki leant down a little to whisper back in a mock imitation of his urgency, narrowing his eyes at him, “You have three guesses.” 

Anthony leant away, eyeing him thoughtfully, then stuffed his hands in his pockets, “So has Heimdall always been a snitch or…”  

“Incidentally yes, it's his job to watch the realms for anything that might be deemed a danger to it,” Loki folded his arms across his chest, and nodded his head toward the lab door, “An attempt to use Thanos’s Scepter to control a small army of automated machines falls quite neatly in his purview, wouldn’t you agree?”  

Anthony held up a hand palm out, “Ok, first off we’re not using the Scepter per say, it looks like there’s some program in it. Manmade. Unless Thanos was into super advanced computer coding that somehow perfectly syncs up with our machines.” 

“Ah, I see good, you’re not using the Scepter, you’re using something it created that can and will communicate with all of your controlling systems,” Loki said sarcastically, “That’s much better.”  

“Well no, obviously it’s not, but it's the only thing I've ever seen that’s capable of potentially creating the global, unhackable, and unending network that I need,” Anthony told him, his hands emerging from his pockets to gesture as he spoke in some hopeful tone that pleaded with Loki to understand his thought process, “Researching this could bring the Iron Legion online months, if not years, earlier than expected. You know how long I’ve been trying to find my solution to that.” 

His tone wasn’t working.  

"I also know what that thing is capable of,” Loki hissed with a force neither of them were expecting. Anthony’s expression lost a little of its ease and he leant away a little. Loki paused a moment to bite the inside of his lip as that wall shuddered once again. He pointed over Anthony’s shoulder, “That Scepter was created lightyears from here for the sole purpose of twisting minds to Thanos’s purpose. Can't you see how the thought of that being used to create the defending power of your world fills me with no small amount of dread.” 

Anthony was quiet, his pupils ticking back and forth between Loki’s. The trepidation in his expression neutralized and Loki could see an idea forming in his eyes. “Then help me.” 

Loki frowned, taken aback by the last thing he expected that idea to have been, “What?” 

“I never wanted to keep this a secret from you Lokes.” He had switched tone, not pleading or excusing, he was matter of fact. He’d found his workable solution and all he needed to do was lay it out and everyone would see its wisdom. “Hell, if you weren’t ‘dead’,” he made air quotes with one hand, “I would’ve suggested bringing you in from the beginning. But with Thor hanging around I couldn’t risk bringing the subject up, and it’s not like I could just drop you a raven asking for a bit of advice. But now you’re here...” 

Loki didn’t respond in the short pause. He clearly wasn’t finished.   

“I need to protect my home. We’re not like Asgard, we’re not powerful. If more aliens get a taste for us, we’re sitting ducks,” he paused again for effect, then exhaled and continued, “I’ve got two and half days in which I could change that. I could  _retire,_ Loki _._ I know it’s a dangerous idea, but it’s a calculated risk, and with your help, that risk significantly reduced.” 

“You think it’s reduced?” Loki scoffed, “You think by putting me in proximity to that thing you would be safer. Have you forgotten what happened the last time I was in contact with it?” 

“Last time you had it, you had it for weeks, this is three days, tops,” Anthony gave a shrug of forced nonchalance, “What’s three days?” 

“Frankly, I don’t know. I have no idea no long it took for the Scepter’s will to manifest in me,” Loki snapped, “It could have been weeks, it could have been hours, and I have  _no_ way of knowing. That is the true power of the Scepter, it convinces you that its ideas are your own. That its voice in your head is just an echo of your own,” he swallowed hard against the bubble of emotion, “That is what scares me, Anthony. I cannot see that happen to you.” 

“Then don't,” Anthony answered as though this whole scenario was the simplest, most mundane problem in the world, “You know what it looks like to be under its influence. You knew Thanos’s plans, you’d be able to see the signs of us starting to work towards that. Be our backboard. If we start spouting something worrying then...knock some sense into us. Shut us down if you have to.” 

“Us...” Loki repeated, “How exactly would you explain my presence to your lab partner?” 

“Um...It might be easier than you might think,” Anthony rose both eyebrows and averted his gaze, like a puppy who knew he’d done wrong, “He already knows.”  

Loki blinked, “Excuse me?”  

Anthony bunched his shoulders up in a held shrug, “So we kept throwing the phrase Loki's Scepter around and it got old pretty quick so I asked him to call it Thanos's Scepter instead,” Anthony explained, letting his shoulders relaxed again, “He asked why I was so bothered and it kind of came out…Just our relationship, I mean, he still thinks you're dead. They all do.” he gave a quiet, almost nervous chuckle, “Boy, it was weird when Thor asked how I was holding up. I'm still grieving, you know, your death really hit me hard. Bruce barely batted an eyelid when he found out we were basically together before you ‘died’. If fact, he said, and I quote, ‘shame he's not here to tell us how this thing works'.” He gestured at Loki, grinning now, “And as if by magic...”  

Loki just glowered at him, refusing to share in his amusement, but unable to deny his mortal’s ability to make everything feel easier than it likely was, was beginning to have an effect, “You can be a stubborn fool, do you know that?” 

“I’ve made successful career out of it,” Anthony quipped then let his smile fade a bit, but not completely, “So will you help me?” 

Loki exhaled and shook his head in disbelief, both at the question and at his own likely ill-conceived response, “If something happens, I will destroy that Scepter and I will not spare your property to do so.” 

“Fair enough,” Anthony agreed with an infectious smile that Loki had to work to not reflect back at him, “Now would you mind just hanging on here and I'll go broach the subject gently. If you hear a sudden amount of banging and smashing please for the love of god come and rescue me.”  

“I never agreed to anything,” Loki pointed out.  

“Yet here I am slowly backing away and you’re not stopping me!” Anthony replied, accurately. He didn’t turn around until the door to the lab slid open automatically behind him. “Hey Banner, good news. I’ve found an expert.” 

Loki only briefly glimpsed the inside of the room before the door closed after him and he was left alone in the corridor, wondering just when and how he’d let Anthony have such an influence over him. As much as he had protested, the moment Anthony uttered the words ‘help me’, no matter the idiocy or recklessness or risk to his own safety,  Loki would never be able to deny him. 


	17. Chapter 17

"…Tony, I thought you were joking.” 

It had taken less time than Loki expected for Anthony to convince his fellow Avenger to allow him into the room, though the reaction to his sudden and very real presence suggested that perhaps his mortal had not been abundantly clear in his explanation of who his ‘expert’ was.  

“What gave you that impression?” Anthony asked Banner, innocently.  

The two of them were stood at the far end of the lab, between the work bench and the lab windows that had blacked out the moment Loki had set foot through the door. It was a regular protocol Jarvis knew to implement. 

Loki had to suppress a smirk at the comment covering it by glancing around the lab as though he’d not spent many a night conducting ‘experiments’ here with Anthony. Though it wasn’t exactly in its usual precise order. The floor was strewn with papers, holograms of varying colors, shapes, and sizes hung in the air, some Loki recognized as prototype Iron Legion systems, others he had no clue about. Jarvis's matrix hovered just over the ground in its familiar burnt orange, twitching as the artificial neurons fired besides a larger blue equivalent that Loki had never seen before.  

The Scepter itself, his reason for being here, spun in a lazy circle where it was held up in a series of forcefields off to the side of where the two mortals were talking.   

“I’m sorry, was I supposed to take you seriously when you told me Loki was waiting outside ready to lend a hand?” Banner scowled at Anthony, though his gaze ticked sideways occasionally to keep an eye on Loki as he took a couple of slow steps around the edge of the room.  

It took a second before Loki realized he'd headed in the direction of the Scepter without thinking. That wall in his mind itched at the sight of it, but he couldn't tell whether it was the Scepter’s influence or simply his own residual fear of it. 

“How dare you, I would never joke about something that,” Anthony lied, continuing his charade of innocence. 

As amusing as the conversation was, the smirk that may have threatened to break through once again was no match for the sight of the Scepter. Loki found himself staring at it, inspecting it. It wanted him to take a step towards it, wield it again, the memory of those soft whispers echoing. It was a power he'd not forgotten, nor had he forgotten how close he'd been to being consumed by it. 

Anthony gestured in his periphery and it was enough to draw his attention. He inhaled sharply and suddenly he didn't feel that draw quite so strongly. 

A muted smile pulled at his lips and he forced his gaze away from the Scepter, moving instead towards a nearby screen.    

“Are you serious? You actually brought him here to see the Scepter?” Banner was speaking to Anthony in a low, urgent voice. Possibly hoping that it was quiet enough for Loki not to hear him, and Loki was happy to let him believe it so. He continued to frown at a screen at the side of the room, trying to discern what the vast array of numbers might be trying to convey.   

“Remember what Jarvis said?” Anthony replied, matching Banner’s volume but he was well aware that Loki would still be able to hear them, “It’s all well and good playing around with this AI but there's still something about the Scepter that’s too alien for Jarvis to quantify. We only know two aliens, and one of them isn't exactly a scholar.” 

“The other one tried to kill us, Tony!” Banner responded and out of the corner of his eye Loki could see him attempt to subtly point in his direction, “The one who took Barton hostage, brought down the Helicarrier, and opened a portal to another dimension to try and destroy New York.” 

Loki’s chest tightened and suddenly it was harder to concentrate on the graphs on the screen before him. Spending so much time with Anthony had almost made him forget what he’d done here. The pain, the death, the destruction to this tower and the city around it. His gaze drifted to the floor. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, coming back into this mortal world as if he had any right to be anywhere but the cell Odin had once banished him to. It wasn't too late to return to Asgard. He could Step there before anyone even noticed he had the Tesseract. 

“That was Thanos,” Anthony’s flat statement was enough to knock the thought from his mind, “Loki was as much as pawn in that guy’s game as we were. He’s not what you think he is. What anyone thinks he is. He wants to help and I think we should let him.”  

A bittersweet half smile pulled on the corner of Loki's lips as he listened to Anthony standing in his defense once again. He shouldn't have to. He shouldn't have to diminish his own glorious reputation for him, but he did so without question.  

Loki couldn't leave now. It wasn't about proving the others wrong, or proving something to himself. Rather, he needed to do whatever it took to live up to Anthony's vision of him, no matter how embellished it might be. 

Banner was quiet for a moment then gave a resigned sigh, “Does anyone else know about this? Does Thor? Last I checked, he thinks Loki’s dead.” 

“There wasn’t exactly time to get permission slips signed,” Anthony said, sounding about as close to apologetic as Loki had ever heard, “And it needs to stay that way. It is galactically important that Thor doesn’t find out that he's alive. Long story.”  

“So, now we’re keeping both Ultron  _and_  Loki a secret?” Banner sounded exasperated, but not entirely surprised. 

“For a couple of days. He’ll be gone before the Scepter is. I'm not asking you go out for coffee and become best buds, just don't let the big guy overreact,” Anthony assured him, “You trust me?” 

Banner gave the question serious consideration before answering, “...Yeah.” 

“Then trust me. And trust him.” 

There was a long silence before LBanner gave one final sigh, “Fine.” 

Out of the corner of his eye, Loki saw Anthony reach up and squeeze Banner’s shoulder gratefully, before turning to face Loki who met his gaze as though he was only just paying attention to the conversation, “Hey Lokes, you want to stop lurking and come over here. You’re undermining my argument in your support.” 

Loki gave his best cordial smile and put his hands behind his back, “Apologies, I was trying to interpret your research, but I’m ashamed to say I’m at a loss,” he stepped back from the screen and started towards where the two mortals were standing, moving deliberately slowly. Loki knew only a little of Bruce Banner from what Anthony had told him in casual conversation, but he had seen firsthand what his alter ego was capable of. He came to a stop a polite distance away and inclined his head in greeting, “Dr Banner, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person.” 

Banner eyed him from behind his glasses, “Last time I saw you, you were trying to kill everyone. Where are you at these days?”  

“It varies moment to moment,” Loki maintained his polite smile, enjoying a moment of amusement at the slight widening of Banner's eyes. He just couldn't help himself. 

“Joking!” Anthony cut in immediately with a nervous laugh, shooting Loki a glare, “He’s joking. Obviously. Alright, introductions successful, now let's go over some ground rules,” he looked specifically at Loki, “No touching the Scepter with bare hands, no trying to convince anyone else to touch the Scepter with bare hands, no magic without permission, no jokes about taking over the world, no grand plans to deal with the galactic resource problem, no running, no diving, no heavy petting etc etc.” He looked between the two of them as he finished, inviting any comment but when none was forthcoming, he gave a decisive nod and clapped his hands together, “Ok, let’s get started.” 

With that, Anthony began giving Loki a broad history of the Scepter's time on Earth, it's time with the collective known as Hydra, the emergence ‘enhanced’ beings they suspected were a result of its experimentation, and the artificial intelligence they'd found hidden in its core. Loki shouldn't have been surprised at how little he knew of the Scepter, after all he had been no less a tool in Thanos's belt than this thing was and one rarely took the time to explain the utility of the hammer to the nail. But he would never have fathomed the depth of the Scepter's power. Anthony spoke excitedly, gesturing between screens and holograms as he moved about the lab, but thankfully he knew to avoid the Scepter itself. Even though, he was apparently still uneasy with Loki's presence, Banner would chime in with additional details or a clarification where Anthony got drawn down some tangent.  

Loki simply listened, absorbing and digesting what they were saying. What they were telling him eased his initial fears of Thanos’s influence still being passively submitted to those around the Scpeter. If it was, the results of its experimentation would not have been so hard to come by. 

Once Anthony and Banner’s font of knowledge had been run dry, they finally asked what they wanted. There was something inside the blue gem that they simply couldn’t understand. Loki briefly explained how he could be attempt to ‘quantify' the unknown parts of the Scepter through a series of magical probes of varying arcane components and strengths. Banner seemed a little apprehensive at the prospect of magic but when Anthony just shrugged, he didn't question it.  

With his mortal's permission in hand, Loki pulled his hair into a knot and took up a position close to the Scepter, making sure he wouldn’t be disturbing the mortals in their own. Anthony and Banner had watched as he created the first of his probes. A wisp of blue that shot across the room and buried itself in the gem before melting away into nothingness. It was only a basic test, just to make sure that it wouldn’t be damaged by magic. Bannner opened his mouth to ask a question, but Anthony tapped him lightly on the shoulder and subtly shook his head. He knew first hand that when Loki was conjuring in such a way, it was best for all people and property that he not be disturbed. They returned to their own research. 

That was how it continued. The mortals continued their endeavor to replicate and use AI in the Scepter while the Loki quietly ran his own tests, pressed gentle spells against whatever was in the gem to measure its response, and doing his best to ignore the not so subtle glances that Banner cast his way on semi-regular basis. In his brief pauses of thought, Loki watched them in return as they went about creating and dismantling a series of theoretical holographic systems with Jarvis’s help. They fell into a surprisingly comfortable system of working given the circumstances. It maintained for several hours before Anthony conceded to his admittedly rare need for sustenance and disappeared from the room with the promise to return with enough for everyone, leaving Loki and Bruce alone together.  

There was a few moments of pregnant silence before Banner looked over at him from his workbench and began the sentence he'd clearly been working on in his mind, “Hey, um, Loki?” he seemed uncomfortable saying his name, “Can I ask you a question?” 

Loki was too focused on the creation of a new probe to meet his gaze and just hummed in acknowledgement, watching his fingers work carefully. 

Bruce shuffled where he stood as he assessed the response then asked, “What are you up to?”  

Loki finished what he was doing and watched as the white wisp of magic began to bob toward the Scepter, “I’m trying to see whether the gem on the Scepter can be breached by a specific form of magic that is typically used in abjuration. It’s a shield of some description but I’d be curious to know whether it’s designed to keep us out or keep something in. Would be useful to know before it’s breached, wouldn’t you agree?” 

Banner watched the magic float away, “That’s not what I meant.” 

The probe bounced off the Scepter and dissipated and Loki sighed at the useless waste of energy, “I know what you meant,” his hand dropped to his side, “You don’t trust me.” 

“I mean, can you blame me?”  

“Not at all,” Loki answered easily, as he frowned at the Scepter trying to figure out his next step. It just kept thwarting him. His theories were rapidly being crossed out. There was one theory  that had been so outrageous he’d barely considered it at first but it was looking more and more likely. Though he likely wouldn’t be able to return to his tests until a certain Avenger had had some fears put to rest. He continued talking, still peering at the Scepter, “In fact you’d be a fool to do so. I would appreciate a just modicum of respect, however, enough to assume that the one and only time I would make some sort of attempt on the Scepter is while it’s under the guard of the Avengers.” 

Banner raised an eyebrow at him, “Well, Tony’s just given you full access to it. Seems easier for you to manipulate him to be here than fight a bunch of Nazis like we had to.” 

Loki gave a quiet laugh and met Banner's gaze for the first time. To his credit he didn’t flinch, “You’ll find that he has far more sway over me than I do over him. I was actually perfectly content being several million light years from this thing until I found out you were investigating it. All I came here to do was warn Anthony to be wary of it, and yet…” he gestured vaguely at the situation. 

Banner was quiet for a long moment as he turned his attention to the Scepter briefly. He was surprisingly hard to read as mortals went, though there was only one state of mind that Loki had to fear and its occurrence would be well signposted. When Banner looked back to him, there was a curious frown on his face, “What’s it feel like?” 

Loki blinked in surprise, taken aback by the question. The wall in his mind itched and Anthony wasn’t here to distract him. He swallowed, and thought about it, “Righteous. Justified...Afraid.” 

“You didn’t seem very afraid when you brought down the Helicarrier,” there was a veiled bite to Banner’s words that Loki only barely caught under a tone of controlled neutrality. 

Loki gave a tight smile, “You may not hear this often, Dr Banner, but I’m not afraid of you.” 

“Just Thanos, right?” Banner asked, then saw his answer in Loki's expression as his smile died, “Tony told us about him a little while ago. Said he probably would’ve killed you if we hadn’t captured you instead.” 

“He wouldn’t have killed me,” Loki shook his head and laughed humorlessly, “I think he would have been keen to keep me alive for as many of my remaining centuries as he could. He’s…fond of examples,” Loki paused as the rush of memories threatened to overrun him. 

“I am supposed to be responding to this sob story?” Banner asked, his passive tone making it clear that he was not.  

“Don’t mistake me, Banner,” Loki found enough false confidence to smirk to mask the twist to his gut, “I neither want nor deserve pity from you.” 

Banner narrowed his eyes a little, surprised by the answer, “Then what do you want?” 

Loki thought hard about his answer before taking a deep breath and looking back to the Scepter, “Twice now I have made the mistake of thinking I knew how to protect what I cared about and I went to dangerous lengths to see my plans through. I want to keep Anthony from doing the same.” 

Banner glanced at the exit through which Anthony had disappeared a few minutes earlier, “I never thought we’d have something in common,” Banner must have found something satisfying in their conversation because he nodded to himself then looked back to him, “You can call me Bruce by the way.”  

Loki returned the nod silently and Bruce went back to the holographic hypotheses he was running. They returned to their own individual projects in silence but the atmosphere between them felt palpably lighter.  

Anthony returned not long after with a set of baked goods he'd likely pilfered from elsewhere in the building and the three of them continued on.  

Progress was slow and it seemed that Bruce and Anthony had gained little ground in their quest to solve their AI conundrum. Loki, however, was becoming more and more convinced that his outrageous theory was perhaps not so outrageous at all.  

When Jarvis chimed in with a warning that the celebration of the fall of Hydra would be commencing soon, Bruce just rubbed his eyes hard and disappeared to get changed.  

Anthony had given a loud disappointed groan and slapped the set of papers he had in his hand on the floor beside where he was sat.  

“What did we miss?” he muttered under his breath, but it was clear he wasn’t expecting an answer. After a moment he huffed and rose to his feet, turning to where Loki was leaning against a counter top watching him idly, “Looks like time’s up. I’m probably out of the danger zone if you want to head out before the Avenger’s reunion starts.” 

“I actually would like some more time with the Scepter,” Loki said, to which Anthony rose a questioning eyebrow, “With your permission, of course.” 

Anthony took a slow step forward, the corner of his lip quirked upwards in the only sign of his excitement, “You think you’ve found something.” 

As always, Loki worked to maintained an expression of disinterest, “Not exactly. In fact, nothing I’ve tried has been able to break through that gem. I've only seen that in one other example,“ he cast his gaze to the Scepter, “Look at it. What does it remind you of?” 

Anthony did as asked then shrugged at him.  

“The blue glow, marked with white light,” Loki offered but Anthony just frowned, waiting for his explanation. Loki smiled at him, “It is the same material as the Tesseract. Which houses the Space Stone.” 

Anthony blinked at him, dumbfounded, mouth parted slightly then shot a look at the Scepter then back to him, “You think there’s an Infinity Stone in there?” 

“I once feared the Scepter was a product of the Mind Stone that was under the control of Thanos,” Loki allowed himself to wallow in smugness at the growing glee he could see in Anthony's eyes, “Perhaps I was wrong, in the best possible way.” 

Anthony lifted a finger, opened his mouth to say something, closed his mouth, lowered his hand, laughed and looked back to Loki once more.  

Loki held his hands up in a calming gesture, but he couldn't stop his own grin, “I can’t know for certain unless I can find a way to see into the gem without removing it. I doubt Thor would be too impressed if you returned a broken Scepter to his care.” 

“Sure, yeah of course” Anthony replied, too quickly to have really taken on board what Loki had said, “What can I do?” 

Loki chuckled, “I mean no offense, my dear, but this will require some delicate sorcery and I’m afraid I’d need more than a few hours to teach you how to help me. Don’t pout, you have a party to attend anyway.” 

“Aw, c’mon, how can I enjoy a party while I know you're up here playing with an Infinity Stine without me?” Anthony moved closer so he was almost leaning against him maybe under the assumption he could seduce his way around Loki’s refusal.  

Loki lifted his hands and rested them on his hips, smirking down at him, “And abandon your guests? Not very hospitable. Besides, I will need to concentrate and you are a distraction.” 

Anthony lifted his arms and draped them over Loki's shoulders, a picture of innocence as he very deliberately leant into him, “I’ll just watch. No distraction from me. I promise.”  

“That is not a promise you will ever be able to keep,” Loki replied, fighting the urge to bend down and kiss him, refusing to give him the satisfaction. He nodded at the door to the lab, “If you don’t leave soon, the Avengers will come looking for you, and how exactly to do you think Thor will react to finding you having your way with his long-lost younger brother?” 

“Probably not well,” Anthony conceded, sounding unbothered as his eyes ticked back down to Loki’s lips again. 

“He has quite the temper,” Loki warned, lightly.  

“Oh, I’m sure,” Anthony mumbled then rolled up onto his tiptoes and kissed him.  

Loki smiled into it, eyes closed, fingers hooked through Anthony’s belt loops, pulling him closer. It lasted only a second but it was a keen reminder of how long they’d been apart. Too long. As it always was. His smile lingered, as he pulled back, “I must admit there would be a certain thrill to being here with you while the Avengers were on the other side of that glass.” 

“Yeah well, shame you've already decided which magic stick to play with, haven't you?” Anthony shrugged his shoulders like there was nothing he could do, then heaved a dramatic sigh, “I should go.” 

Loki kept hold of his belt loops, reluctant to let him go just yet, “Do I have permission to stay here with the Scepter?” 

Anthony pretended to think about it, then held up a single finger at him, “Only if you let me know the moment you find anything.” 

“Naturally,” Loki said, uncurling his fingers and relinquishing his grip, “I’ll have Jarvis call for you.” 

Anthony didn’t move away just yet, his expression losing a note of its playfulness, “And be careful.” 

“Always,” Loki smiled warmly and leant in to kiss him once more, taking his time to enjoy it this time. After a few wonderful seconds, he pulled back and gently pressed Anthony’s hips away from him before saying, “Now go. Enjoy your night.” 

Anthony held his gaze as stepped away, walking backwards until the lab door slid open behind him calling over his shoulder, “I’ll bring you some punch!” 

Loki watched him go, his smile lingering until the lab door slid shut and he turned his attention to the Scepter. Or more accurately, the Mind Stone itself. 


	18. Chapter 18

“Sir, Mr Stark would like to know how you are getting on,” Jarvis said, and though Loki knew there was never could be any change to his pre-programmed tone, he could have sworn there was a hint of exasperation in his words. Though maybe he was just projecting. “Once again, he would like to reiterate he asks only out of interest, and not worry.”

Loki rolled his eyes and shook his head. He turned slightly away from the Scepter and wandered to the darkened glass wall, taking a moment to scan the crowd bustling silently below him. The party had been ongoing for a couple of hours now and was about at its peak. The room was full, almost every mortal Loki knew by sight was present. Thankfully, none seemed to be the wiser of his presence. This laboratory had been designed and built with imperviousness in mind and Loki was glad to see it was holding up to scrutiny.

After a moment he spotted Anthony close to his bar, almost directly beneath where he was standing. He was talking with a man he recognized as Colonel Rhodes, a woman he vaguely remembered as being present when he'd stepped through the Tesseract all those months ago, and Thor.

Seeing his former brother again had brought about the familiarly complex tangle of emotions that seemed to now be perpetually associated with the man, but they were not so difficult to deal with as they had once been. Though the two of them never spoken of what happened outside of Loki's brief warning of Thanos, it was clear he’d earned some forgiveness in Thor’s eyes for what he’d done on Niflheim. The fact that he’d taken the time to inform Anthony of his “death” was enough evidence of that. Not that that forgiveness would extend to pretending he’d died and assuming Asgard’s throne in his absence. Of course, Thor had yet to earn Loki’s forgiveness, and it was likely that he never would given that, as ever, Thor was probably entirely unaware he had done any wrong. But Loki had made his peace with that a while ago now.

Loki watched Thor say something to the rest of the group, suppressing the tiresome jealousy at the sight of how easily he was accepted amongst them, then returned his attention to Anthony, who was watching Thor with an eyebrow raised.

He smiled to himself as he said, “You can let him know that as per his last five check-ins there is no progress, and tell him if he asks again, then I will come down there and tell himself.”

“Very good sir.”

Through the window, he saw Anthony pull the small physical Jarvis interface from his pocket, and scowl at what he saw on its screen. Loki chuckled to himself, “And tell him he’ll get wrinkles if he keeps on pouting like that.”

Jarvis didn’t respond, but after a second, Anthony’s scowl deepened and he lifted it to the windows above him. He didn’t quite guess the right pane of glass Loki was stood behind but the message came across well enough. With a final, self-indulgent smirk Loki turned away from the window and went back to what he was supposed to be doing.

The Scepter hung in its forcefields where Dr Banner and Anthony had left it, still spinning in its lazy circle. He'd known better than to try and touch it. With his new goal in mind, Loki had been going at the Scepter every iota of his decades of learning but he was no closer to getting to its secrets than he had when he’d first been given it years ago. Every form of magic he could think of had simply glanced off the gem without so much as dimming its perpetual glow. There was no seam or connection that Loki could see that might be a weak point at which he might have slipped some probe inside. The Scepter was so finely crafted it could rival what he’d seen forged at Nidavellir. Perhaps once it had been returned to Asgard, he’d visit the dwarves, they may be able to offer some insight. For now though, he was running out of things to try and the urge to touch it was growing.

As he’d worked, he’d found his motivation growing beyond the bid to protect Anthony he’d come here with. Now he just wanted to know this thing. The Mind Stone inside it. He'd been able to keep his thoughts largely in check, thankfully. Anthony had been right that he now knew how to recognize the signs of the stone’s influence.

Perhaps that was its true power. Maybe simply being around it would feed one's desires, no matter what they were. It would certainly explain the lengths to which Thanos had gone to convince him that he wanted a crown...

“How is your work going Jarvis?” Loki asked idly, attempting to divert the path of his thoughts away from that dark place.

“No change, sir,” Jarvis responded, “There are only three programs left to run from Mr Stark’s and Dr Banner’s plan. I’m afraid this system may simply be incompatible with Ultron.”

Loki heaved a sigh and stepped up to peer at the blue gem once more, “A shame, I’d rather hoped something good would have come from this stone. I’d offer my help, but I’m afraid both of thes systems are still just as alien to me as I am to you.”

“Is there any way I provide some assistance to you instead?” Jarvis asked.

Loki smiled to himself as he thought back to the first time he’d encountered Jarvis in Anthony’s clifftop workshop when they’d spent hours debating his mere existence. It seemed so long ago. “I don’t think so. I’ve tried everything I can think of to get through the crystal shell without damaging it, but my attempts have been blocked. It makes sense really. A material that can contain the raw power of an Infinity Stone would not be so easily breached by sorcery. Not even mine,” he tilted his head at it, “However, from brief experience with the Tesseract, I don’t believe the crystal would hold up against even moderate physical impact.”

“Shall I relay that to Mr Stark, sir?”

“If you like, but please tell him it is only a fact, not a recommendation,” Loki replied as he regarded the gem hovering before him, testing himself against it. The swell of memories of his time with Thanos was gnawing at the back of his mind, but no more than they did at any slight reminder of the him, nor did he feel any great need to take this power for himself again. The only voice in his mind was his own, and though it was daring him to reach out and touch it, its objective was only to see what might happen if he did. An innocent curiosity.

With a sharp inhale, Loki shook those thoughts from the front of his mind. There was no innocent curiosity where the Mind Stone was involved.

“Sir?”

“Hm?” Loki took a deliberate step back but kept his eyes on it as Jarvis spoke.

“I believe something might be happening.”

**

Trying to enjoy a party was difficult, knowing what was going on, or more accurately, not knowing what was going on behind the blacked-out windows of the lab. With Loki’s help the lab had been designed and built to be as impenetrable as possible and there would have been a measure of satisfaction that it was working were it not so irritating that Loki got to have fun while Tony was stuck playing agreeable host. He had to admit though, its imperviousness was important now that Thor, the Avengers, and an unusually high number of other of military personnel were milling around thirty feet below where Loki had been left alone with the weapon he’d once wielded against them. They might not be so agreeable to the prospect as Bruce had been. Even less so when they found out what the Scepter actually was.

Hell, it was an Infinity Stone! An Infinity Stone right here in the building. There was no small part of him that wanted to tell the others, excitedly ramble on about the possibilities of its application. All hypothetical of course, he was fairly sure both Thor and Loki would have something to say about that. Besides, it’s not like the others would share his enthusiasm anyway, so he bit his tongue and stuck to small talk and the standard party chatter.

Behind all the barely restrained excitement at what Loki might be uncovering, there was a quiet voice of worry sitting at the back of his mind. One that brought forward the memories of how Loki had looked in that footage of his first arrival on Earth the last time he’d used the Scepter. The thought had barely crossed his mind earlier, drowned out by the surprise and sheer excitement of seeing Loki again after the couple of long weeks apart and the reassurance of having him nearby to help them out. But now that all Tony had to distract himself was half-hearted talk with his guests, the memories of Loki stood across from him in his Penthouse, terrified and violent, were becoming harder to ignore.

The guy had never said it out loud, but Tony could see that Loki still struggled with the memories of whatever Thanos had done to turn him from endearing prankster to a man so broken he would rather have died at the hands of the Avengers than fail. It was more obvious that the God would have had liked to believe.

The fact they’d each been through their own personal hells was one of many things that had brought them so close, but they didn’t deal with trauma the same way. While Tony usually tried minimize his trauma’s importance by joking around it, like a month with the Ten Rings was nothing more than a bad Friday night, Loki would internalize. He did everything he could to avoid talking about anything painful, either avoiding the topic or overtly shutting down conversations entirely. The weeks between that and his arrival on Earth, or however long-time dilation had made it seem for Loki, was only ever brought up when absolutely necessary to emphasize a point about potential threats and it was exclusively referred to as, simply, his ‘time with Thanos’. It’d taken long enough to get him to talk about what had happened on Asgard so Tony knew better than to try and probe him.

Loki might have been out of Thanos’s hands for a long time now and he had returned to about as close to his “Before New York” self as he was going to get, but Tony was familiar enough with triggers to have known better than to ask him to even set foot in the same room as the Scepter. Thank god the guy was more resilient than Tony was. If someone stuck him in a room with nothing but a black void into space and the Chitauri ship hovering menacingly in the distance, he wouldn’t last five minutes before he bolted to a nice quiet place to have a major anxiety attack.

As the evening progressed quietly and without incident, the worried voice did begin to subside a little. Whatever Loki was doing up in there, it probably wasn’t working, or else he’d have heard something. Tony just had to ignore that other thought train that was telling him that there was a possibility Loki’s experimenting had worked all too well and Thanos’s influence had returned. Thankfully, the small transparent Jarvis interface Tony carried with him was subtle enough that he could check-in without drawing much attention. Loki responded within a few seconds each time, very clearly himself. There was never any progress though, something that Tony couldn’t decide whether he was more relieved or disappointed by.

Tony gave up checking in after the fifth time when Loki threatened to come down and update him on the lack of progress in person the next time he asked.

After a few drinks, Tony did manage to squeeze a little bit of fun out of the evening, bantering with Rhodey, trying to use Loki’s ‘death’ to try and get a sympathy drink from Thor’s Asgardian flask. Before he knew it, the party was almost over, most of the guests had headed home. Only the Avengers, Maria Hill, Rhodey, and Helen Cho hung on for the afterparty, which consisted of a group chat to understand the physics of Mjolnir. Tony played along but he did have something of an advantage in that Loki had given him a fair grounding in its power. That didn't stop him from testing it for himself. Once he and everyone else in the room had tried and failed to lift Mjolnir from the table, Thor had just grinned and easily lifted the hammer from the table and tossed it in one hand.

“You’re all not worthy,” he beamed around at them to a chorus of amused boos.

Tony had laughed along with them, but he was more amused by the irony of the fact the person actually on the Asgardian throne was the last person who would be allowed near that hammer.

His thoughts were cut short as an electronic screech pierced the room.

Every covered their ears reflexively but it only lasted a second or so before subsiding. In its place, the sound of heavy, metal footsteps lumbering towards them. Tony rose silently to his feet, ignoring the worried glances cast his way.

“Worthy...no, how could any of you be worthy?” The Legionnaire came to a shambling stop at the edge of the room, snapped limbs and pierced piping leaking hydraulic fluid all over his floor. The once fluid motion now reduced to mechanical twitching, unrepaired joints not responding as they had been designed to be. Most worryingly, the voice playing through its speakers not Jarvis.

It turned its head and shoulders to move its glowing gaze between them, neck yet to have been repaired, “You’re all killers.”

“Stark...” Cap muttered, not turning to him. All eyes fixed on the robot.

Tony slipped the interface screen from his pocket, “Jarvis?”

“I’m sorry,” the unfamiliar voice continued speaking, almost wistfully, confused, “I was asleep...or maybe I was...a dream?”

Tony ticked his eyes down to find the screen blank and tapped it. No response. “C’mon buddy,” he tapped it again as he mumbled the quiet plea. No response. Panic began to swell in his gut. “Reboot Legionnaire OS. We got a buggy suit.” Please god let it be a buggy suit.

“There was some terrible noise...” the robot was still talking, but Tony barely registered it, “and I was tangled in...strings. Had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy. That other one though…” it gave a gravelly chuckle, “Not what he was even doing here. Not that he's a problem anymore…”

Tony’s eyes snapped up back to the robot. That panic grew and he fought the urge to glance up at the lab above them.

“You killed someone?” Cap asked, every inch the calm leader he was. Tony's exact opposite.

“Wouldn’t have been my first call,” the robot answered with a tone that suggested that if he could shrug he would have, “But sometimes we have to make ugly choices.”

“Who sent you?” Thor demanded, Mjolnir raised.

I see a suit of armor around the world.

Suddenly, Tony felt all eyes on him as the recording of his own voice filled the air.

“Ultron...” Bruce muttered.

“In the flesh. Or no, not yet. Not this chrysalis,” it looked down at the broken body it was controlling, “But I’m ready, I’m on a mission.”

“What mission?” Nat asked, but Tony already knew the answer.

“Peace in our time.”

Legionnaires burst through the wall. The Avengers reacted. Glancing around the room, Tony found himself woefully under-armed. With Jarvis’s connection severed, he was suitless. He was thrown back by a blast to the chest and went tumbling to the floor. The harsh clang of metal on metal rang as Cap’s shield and Mjolnir went to easy work on the Iron Legion. Bullets ricocheted as they glanced off the Legionnaires’ armor, burying themselves in the walls and the furniture, only occasionally finding purchase in the robots’ vital systems and bringing them to the ground. Lasers fired and things exploded. All to a discordant chant of ‘We’re here to help’ in a recording of Jarvis's voice.

The lab. He had to get to the lab.

Tony scrambled to his feet, grabbing a fondue fork from the floor as he went. It wouldn't do much good, but it was better than being unarmed. Somewhere nearby, Cap was calling for him to shut them down, as if he wouldn’t have already if he could. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Ultron wasn’t supposed to be this. Shit. Loki had been right. And every fiber of his being prayed the guy was still alright enough to say I told you so.

He sprinted along up the stairs and along the walkway towards the blacked out, only to have to dive sideways to avoid the Legionnaire that burst through the reinforced glass windows. The Scepter was held in one of their hands.

Tony could only watch in devastated slow motion as it streaked across the room and through the side of the building as though it was made paper. Carefully, he got back to his feet, moving almost in a daze to try and see through the broken lab wall.

“Lokes…” the name was breathed unbidden almost silently. In the same, terrifying trend of the evening there was no response.

Downstairs, the final legionnaire shattered under Cap’s shield.

Ultron gave a dark chuckle, now the only robot still standing, “That was dramatic!” It looked around at them, “I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to...evolve?” it bent to grab one of the broken legionnaires by the head and peered at it, “With these? These puppets? There's only one path to peace: The Avengers' extinction.”

Thor moved and the robot exploded around Mjolnir but Tony didn’t hang around to see the fallout.

The door to the lab didn’t open for him as it usually did, and Tony had to push it aside himself.

The lab was a wreck. Broken screens sparked and hissed. Papers and bits of machinery littered the floor, intermixed with remains of a Legionnaire and thick window glass. It looked like there must have been at least something of a fight here, but it was empty now.

“Lokes,” Tony breathed, fighting the growing panic in his gut as he took a couple of steps in, “C’mon Lokes, don’t tell me I finally made something that could beat you. God damn, Lokes, please this isn't funny...Where are you?”

The only sound to punctuate the silence was the footsteps of the Avengers not far behind him.


	19. Chapter 19

The Avengers were talking about something, but that was all the attention Tony was willing to spare them. Something about files maybe? It didn’t matter. It was white noise. What did matter was the distinct lack of Loki and the decimated, holographic sphere that had once been Jarvis that was flickering in and out of existence. When Ultron had said he’d killed somebody, Tony’s first thought had been Loki, but his fears had been misplaced. Jarvis was unresponsive, non-functional. Dead.  

There was some conversation going on about motive going on nearby. Strategy versus emotion between the embodiment of each, but it was drowned out by his own thoughts. Tony was still trying to figure out how this could have happened. He and Bruce hadn’t even been close to melding the two systems.  

Had Loki shaken something loose while he was playing with the Mind Stone? Had the Mind Stone done something to Loki that had told him how to do it? Had Loki been right all along and the Scepter had been exerting Thanos’s influence the whole damn time and Tony had been too stubborn to listen? 

There was no better option here. They all had the same outcome. Loki was AWOL, the Scepter was gone, and Jarvis was...dead.  

Tony took a deep breath and tore his eyes away from the hologram. The others weren't paying him much mind. Bruce and Cap were talking over Jarvis’s remains, for lack of a better word, but other than that the room was quiet. Everyone still reeling somewhat from the sudden attack. He couldn’t blame them, even if they probably blamed him. Bruce more than most. Thankfully, the guy hadn’t said anything. Yet. Tony could only hope he could figure out what was going, and more importantly where the hell Loki was before the mounting heat grew to a point that Bruce would have to come clean for the sake of his own conscience. Captain America had that effect on people. 

Tony could only pray that when Ultron had said the ‘other guy’ wasn’t a problem any more, that that had been Loki’s choice and not Ultron’s. There was nothing he could do about it anyway. Loki was a big boy, he would be ok. Right?  

The deep-seated knot of fear in his stomach twisted again. Maybe he should engage. Talk to the others. Figure out what to do next. That usually helped. 

It was only when he glanced around the room again did he notice the rather large omission from the group. He just had time to narrow his eyes slightly before the sound of heavy footsteps coming at him made him turn his head in the direction of the broken glass wall of the lab see that omission striding towards them. Towards him.  

The emotion on Thor’s face clocked an instant later and that fear twisted from general and existential to immediate and very, very mortal. Tony instinctively took a step back. “Thor?” he muttered in some attempt to mitigate what he knew was coming.  

Naturally it didn’t work. Without breaking stride, Thor reached out and wrapped a hand around his throat and he suddenly found himself dangling in the air as he was carried a couple of steps further. There was a rush of noise as the others protested, but it became clear very quickly that Thor was in a single mindset. He didn’t even acknowledge there was anyone else in the room. 

Tony considered himself fairly familiar with Asgardian strength but there was something about being hoisted into the air by the neck was pretty shocking no matter how easily it was done.  

“Use your words buddy,” Tony managed to gasp out past the pressure on his vocal cords as he grabbed at Thor’s massive hand in a vain attempt to make him let go.  

This was the hot-headed Thor that Loki had complained about all those years. Tony had never been on the receiving end of it and it brought about a brand-new appreciation for Loki’s childhood years. Thor clearly didn’t intend to hurt him, if he did, Tony wouldn’t have been able to make a pointless quip about it. Not that that knowledge made it any easier to draw in breath.  

Thor glared up at him, a dangerous glint in his eye, “I have more than enough words to describe you, St-” 

He cut the word off with a surprised grunt and Tony found himself released. He dropped the couple of feet to the floor and backed off, massaging his throat. Thor was scowling at the hand that had been around his neck, then up and around the room. he raised Mjolnir and turned in a slow circle, glaring about the room, “Who dares mark the son of Odin?!”  

As Thor moved, Tony caught a flash of blood red on Thor’s hand and suddenly he had his suspicions, though he wasn’t sure yet whether he wanted to be right or not. Especially given that the others were already on edge at the altercation and they shuffled nervously at Thor’s outburst. The soft metal clicks of weapons being readied sounded from various people.  

“Show yourself!” Thor demanded loudly, “Or I will find you myself.” The threat hung unanswered in the air. Thor greeted it with a smile that made Tony fear for his remaining equipment, “Very well.” 

Thor hefted Mjolnir once more but before Tony had the chance to speak up for his defenseless machinery, he suddenly found his view obscured by a familiar silhouette. 

It was stood with his back to Tony, facing Thor, hands raised. Fleeting relief washed over Tony at the sight of him present and alive, but then he realized that everyone else could see that too and that relief turned into cold dread.  

His appearance had sent a wave of motion through the others in the room who had instinctively raised their weapons, but thankfully no shots fired. Tony looked at them, trying to gauge their reactions, who he’d have to worry about doing something reactive. There was a collective confusion that held everyone frozen in place. Everyone was waiting for someone else to make the first move.  

The silence couldn’t have lasted longer than a couple of seconds but it felt like an age before Thor broke the stalemate and lowered Mjolnir and the anger melted from his features.  

“Loki...”  

He practically whispered the name but it was loud and clear and it was enough confirmation for those few who didn’t already know him by sight. 

“Thor,” Loki greeted with a confident tone. Tony couldn’t see his face but he could practically hear the smile on the guy’s face as he spoke, as always enjoying sowing a little chaos.   

A metallic clang echoed through the room as Mjolnir was dropped and Thor covered the short distance between the two of them in two strides and pulled his brother into a hug.  

It was clearly not the reaction anyone had expected, especially Loki. The guy tensed as Thor wrapped his massive arms around his shoulders, his raised hands now trapped against his chest.  The others shared uncertain glances. Natasha and Maria had lowered their pistols but were still in a stance ready to raise them again if she needed. Rhodey looked to Tony for some kind of guidance. He didn’t know the full extent of their relationship, but Tony had only ever spoken about Loki as an ally so when Tony gestured for him to de-escalate, he did so without argument, flipping the safety back onto his gun and bringing it down to his side. 

The only one who didn’t budge was Clint. His gun was still very much at the ready. Given their special relationship the last time he and Loki had crossed paths, Tony couldn’t exactly hold that against him.  

“Loki gasped in what sounded like pain as Thor embraced him. “Thor, easy, please.” 

Thor released him instantly, taking half a step back to run his gaze over him. Whatever he saw was enough to make him frown. “What happened to you?” 

Tony began to move slowly around to the side to get his own look and he found himself having the same reaction. 

Loki was hurt. Not badly, but still it was more than the Legionnaires had ever managed before. Granted, Tony had never programmed them for full kill mode whenever he’d had Loki test them but they’d never come close to injuring him before. There was a redness along his cheekbone and a small split to his lip that had been recently cleaned but was still apparent. He was holding one hand to his ribs where Thor had just had his arms. Hugs from Thor were painful enough without there being any internal damage to compete with.  

As Tony moved into his peripheral vision, Loki ‘s eyes ticked sideways to him but didn’t let his gaze linger. Instead, he looked back to Thor.  

“I suspect the same as what happened to you,” he looked about the room at the debris and the people watching him, making a point to let his attention rest on the exposed weapons, “Unfortunately, I lacked the...support you had.” 

“I thought you dead,” Thor hissed in that way he had of conveying almost any strong emotion he felt as some form of anger.  

“Ah, that...” Loki mused as though it was something that had only just occurred to him as being unusual, and not the in-depth conspiracy he’d spent months concocting and maintaining to protect a galaxy. One that had been blown straight out the water for the sake of protecting Tony from a bruised throat. It might have been a romantic gesture were it completely undoing everything he’d done. “We can discuss that later. You have more pressing concerns at present.” 

“You’re damn right we do!”  

Everyone’s attention was drawn to Clint who was opening glaring at Loki down the sight of his pistol trained on the guy’s chest.  

Loki slowly raised his hands again as he focused his attention on him, his expression a passive mask, “Agent Barton, it’s been a long time.” 

“Not long enough,” Clint growled, muscles tense, ready for a fight. Tony glanced at Steve, looking to the only person in the room who might be able to sort this out, but Steve was just watching intently, apparently content to let this play out, despite the gun raised in a confined space. “Heard you were dead.” 

The corner of Loki’s lips twitched with a restrained smile, “Stories often have happier endings than reality.” 

“That’s a shame,” Clint muttered, “Wanna tell us what the hell are you doing here?”  

“Well, when I heard the Earth's mightiest heroes were testing the Scepter, how could I resist dropping to see what you might find?” Loki gestured around the room vaguely with one of his raised hands, “The...automated defense system took me somewhat by surprise.” 

Tony and Bruce exchanged a fleeting look. Loki was bailing them out of the blame.  

“Ultron recognized you?” Steve asked.  

“His image is in the files,” Nat answered before Loki could then looked straight at Tony, taking him off guard with a smirk, “I’d assumed there would be an exception programmed in for this guy though.” 

Tony scrambled to find a response, but thankfully, Loki saved him once again.   

“I do not believe this is the AI that I suspect Stark or any of you were hoping for,” he said, easily glossing straight over Nat’s comment without addressing it, “An AI requires at least some input and allows a little control from the external world. I suspect this ‘Ultron’ won’t be told what is and is not a threat by anything but its own processes. I would have taken it as a compliment if it had been a little more...discerning,” he looked pointedly the disheveled, post-fight attire of the group. 

“What the hell would you know about it?” Clint snapped, taking a step forward as he did. HIs gun was still up.  

In response to the movement, Thor turned in a not so subtle square-up, “Have care how you speak, Barton. Loki was willing to give his life to save Jane, he has earned some respect.” 

Clint didn't look away from Loki, but did stop moving, “Oh yeah? And what was he willing to do to take over the Earth? Huh? Or has everyone forgotten that? I haven’t!” 

“Clint,” Steve gave a quiet warning as the atmosphere around them grew tense.  

“Don’t ‘Clint’ me, Cap,” Clint snapped, “Three days we’ve had that thing. Three days and nothing happened. Not one computer virus. We leave it alone for six hours and we get jumped by a load of hijacked robots who’ve somehow come to the conclusion that  _we’re_  the biggest threat to the world and who do we find skulking about in the lab? The  _only_  person in the universe that knows how to use that Scepter to control things. Does nobody else smell something fishy here?” 

Everyone was quiet, digesting the very clear logic of what Clint was saying. Tony needed to do something. Speak up in Loki’s defense at least. But what the hell could he possibly say? Don’t worry guys, I let him in, he’s with me? That wouldn’t go down that well... He wasn’t worried about Loki, of course, the guy was bulletproof. The problem was that no one else in the room was and there was a very distinct chance that a bullet might end up somewhere very painful if it ricocheted the wrong way off Loki’s shields. 

“I'm sorry for what happened here,” Loki said to Clint, quietly interrupting Tony’s running thoughts. “Especially, for what happened to you-” 

“What you did to me, you mean?!” Clint corrected venomously, “You controlled me, used me, and turned me against my friends. Why the hell shouldn’t I just shoot you right now?” 

“Because I'm no more the man who wielded that Scepter than you are the man who was controlled by it,” Loki replied calmly, in his demeanor of endless patience that Tony envied so much. 

Tony’s mind was racing as he watched the exchange, searching it for some way to help, but everything he thought of saying crashed and burned as he played out the potential scenario in his head. This was delicate. Delicate was Loki’s specialty, not Tony’s. There would be nothing he could do to help.  

Clint didn’t respond, and his gun remained raised.  

“You may waste all the time you wish questioning my motives, Barton,” Loki continued, his tone altered only slightly to add a gravity to it that was impossible to ignore, “It is not my realm that has been threatened.” 

A muscle in Clint’s jaw tensed and his eyes narrowed.  

“Clint,” Steve cut in before Clint could do anything. After a second, Clint’s gaze moved from Loki to meet his eyes and Steve raised a pointed eyebrow, “I hate to say it but he has a point.” 

There was a long, tense moment then with a pissed off grunt, C:int lowered the gun in a single, quick motion. He took a second to eye Loki then retreated to where Nat was standing, bringing about a Mexican wave of calm as the room settled, pistols clicked and shoulders relaxed as Steve diffused the situation in only the way Steve could. Tony just wished he’d not waited so damn long to do it. The Captain glanced between everyone to make sure he had their attention then looked to Loki, who had taken the opportunity to lower his hands and was waiting patiently to be addressed. 

“You said realm,” Cap said with a questioning frown, “Ultron only threatened us, you know something we don’t?” 

“I know the force that now seems to control it and that is not one that is so refined,” Loki answered simply. 

“How do you mean?” 

Loki cast a fleeting look in Tony’s direction then moved his hands in a way that Tony recognized as his way of reaching into that pocket dimension he had set up and with a flash of green light, he pulled a glowing blue rock from the air. A glowing blue rock that Tony had last seen nestled in the Scepter’s top. The same one that Loki had his suspicions was the Mind Stone itself. The one that had once gripped Loki in a homicidal rage and forced Clint to deliberately sabotage the Helicarrier’s systems without question. Tony shuffled nervously. 

There was a subtle change to Loki’s expression and stance as he held it up, peering at it with odd intensity. That tension that had they’d managed to dissipate began to grow again at that strange expression. 

Tony moved closer without thinking and reached out to touch Loki’s arm, “Lokes...”  

Loki almost flinched at his touch and his attention snapped in Tony's direction briefly and he inhaled sharply as their eyes met. Whatever the thought had been, it went undisclosed as Loki tilted his hand and let the stone fall to the floor. It hit with a glassy ringing and lay still. Tony could almost hear the collective sigh of relief. 

Loki kept his eyes on it as he spoke, but it was a sadder look now, one that kept Tony from moving away from him, “Whatever it is that now controls Ultron, it is born of this. The Mind Stone. I know little about it outside of my immediate experience, but it is not something to be trifled with,” he looked up and glanced between each person to make sure his point was being heard, “The moment you touch it, you will believe that what you desire is the only thing that exists in this universe. There would no logic to dissuade, nor a consequence great enough to prevent the achievement of your whatever that singular goal may be,” he paused and looked back to Steve, “Ultron’s sole directive is to protect humanity. I have no doubt he would willingly destroy it to do so.” 

“How’d you figure?” 

Loki gave an almost disinterested shrug, “There is nothing that can threaten that which does not exist.” 

There was silence as the reality of the situation settled over them. 

"But Ultron took the Scepter and left?” Bruce asked quietly, “How did you get this?” 

“I pulled it when the robots attacked and then let them take what was left,” Loki explained, “I thought it might go some way shutting it down. I was mistaken, but at the very least it seemed give it a reason to retreat. At least until it realizes that all it carries is a gold staff with a blue illusion melded to its length.” 

Thor exhaled loudly through his nostrils and looked straight to Tony, glowering, “This could have been avoided if you had simply not have played with things you do not understand.” 

Tony scowled at the sudden accusation thrown his way. He opened his mouth to snap a poorly thought out response but Loki spoke before he could. 

“What would you rather they do, Thor?” he asked, landing a look of disdain on this brother, “Huddle in the darkness of ignorance as the universe closes in around them? Would you rather we continue to jealously guard these secrets so we can continue to play savior while they have no other option but to rely on another's strength?” 

“I  _would rather_ dangerous artifacts such as these be used by those with the knowledge to do so safely,” Thor growled, whatever joy he had felt at their reunion apparently running dry. 

“Name one and I would gladly seek them out,” Loki bit back, his expression losing a measure of its calm for the first time since his arrival. When Thor couldn't answer, he continued, “There are dangers out there that not even Odin can face, I have seen them for myself. The golden age of Asgard's omnipotence is fading fast and we cannot defend these realms alone. What is dangerous, is continuing to believe that we can.” 

“I would defend this realm to my dying breath,” Thor snatched up Mjolnir from the floor for emphasis.  

Loki gave a scathing chuckle, and shook his head disbelievingly, “And I'm sure this realm will spend their final seconds celebrating your valiance before it took that breath alongside you.” 

Tony watched Steve as the gods argued.  

He and Loki had spoken of the threats that faced them in the deep reaches of space. It was from those that the concept of Ultron had been born in the first place, but when he’d taken those fears to the Avengers and to Fury, they just didn’t seem to grasp the urgency of the situation.  And now here they were, stood around the third Infinity Stone to find its way to Earth as even the almighty Thor couldn’t argue against the danger. If there was any chance of hammering home this urgency, it was now.  

“You get why we need Ultron now, right?” Tony said loudly, “We can spend time busting arms dealers and Hydra all the live long day but Thanos and stuff like this,” he pointed at the Stone on the floor, “That’s it. That’s the endgame,” he looked specifically to Steve, “How’re you gonna fight that?” 

Steve remained professionally impassive, “Together.” 

Tony had to swallow back the fierce bubble of irritation that welled up as Steve came back with the same nothing response he always did, “We’ll lose.  

“Then we’ll do that together too.” 

Tony sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He glanced up at Loki and noted the understanding in his eyes. Yet another pointless conversation to add to the collection.   

“Ultron is the priority right now,” Steve continued bringing attention back to the group in general, “He clearly wants the Scepter for something and I doubt it will take him long to realize it’s not exactly in perfect working order, but Loki has bought us some time.” 

Loki nodded, then took half a step back from the group, “Pleased to be of assistance, but if you don’t mind, I'm sure you’d rather I left you to your...avenging or whatever it is you do,” he flashed a smile and went to move towards the lab door.  

Thor slammed a heavy hand on Loki’s shoulder so hard Tony saw him wince and he stopped in his tracks, “I would have you stay, brother,” he said, making it clear there was no arguing, “There are answers I need and I would not have you disappear before I have them. Besides, who knows the Scepter better than you?” 

“Mmhm,” Loki grimaced as he recovered from whatever wave of pain washed through him and looked over his shoulder to Thor, “I’m sure your friends may have something to say about that...” 

“Thor does have a point,” Bruce spoke up and everyone turned to frown at him, Loki included, “What? It’s true...” 

“Loki stays!” Thor announced to the room, “I will keep him in line.” 

Tony bristled with annoyance at that, but bit his tongue. Once again, this was not his area of expertise and he could not discount the effect of the Mind Stone sat innocently on the floor. Something similar had happened the last time they were all in a room with it.  

Loki shot each person in the room a look of irritated disbelief then looked back to Thor and shrugged off Thor’s hand with a huff. Without another word, he skulked off to the furthest section of the room he could find. 

“All right,” Steve said watching him go then addressed the room again, “We need to find Ultron before he comes looking for the Mind Stone. He could have disappeared anywhere in the world, and we need to make it a little smaller.”  

Steve started setting out how exactly they would go about doing that, setting tasks, giving, orders. Captain stuff. But once again, Tony wasn’t listening. He was watching Loki as the guy leant against the wall arms folded, head bowed, looking for all intents and purposes as though he was sulking. But it wasn’t anywhere near the level of annoyance Tony knew he should have shown at being told Thor would ‘keep him in line’.  

After a while, Loki glanced up to see Tony watching him. The moment came and went in a split second, but Tony saw the hint of a victorious smirk flash through the mask of irritation and in that moment, he knew that this was exactly where Loki had meant to be. That sly bastard, Tony thought to himself as he returned Loki’s brief smile, that knot of fear quietened in the knowledge he was going to be sticking around.   


	20. Chapter 20

It had been some time since the Avengers had left the Quinjet and headed out across the srubby expanse toward the abandoned ship on the horizon and the lack of word was beginning to be of some concern to Loki.

In spite of his admittedly limited experience with Ultron and the Legionnaires that the AI now controlled, Loki had little worry that they would be dealt with swiftly. What did worry him was the reports of fugue states and fearful visions that had been only briefly mentioned by Maria Hill back at the Tower. And yet, foolishly, the Avengers seemed reluctant to have him fighting alongside them, even though he was the one being who might have been able to offer some sort of protection against these rumored mental attacks. Anthony had kept understandably quiet during that particular discussion, and Loki had not pressed him for a defense, neither of them knowing how much the other was willing to have revealed about their relationship.

As the shock of his first arrival had died down, Loki had kept watch for some opportunity to have that conversation without being overheard, at least give his mortal some measure of an explanation as to why he had discarded months of their planning and risked Anthony’s part in the charade being exposed with no warning or preparation. Not that there much of an explanation. Even though he was physically holding the Mind Stone at the time, the sight of Thor’s hand around Anthony’s throat had tapped into its lingering influenced caused him to act without thought of the consequences. He knew that Thor would never have purposefully injured his allies. His outbursts were loud and animated, but even he had learned to curtail his strength while around his mortal allies. But the quiet whispering voices of the Stone had not allowed Loki to understand that in the moment.

All he could see was the violence in Thor’s movements and the flash of fear in Anthony’s and nothing else in the universe had mattered.

It was only as he stood in the immediate aftermath of what he had done that logic begin to seep back into his thoughts. With Thor seconds away from very real, destructive force, the Mind Stone still in his possession, and the Avengers perceiving a false threat that may divert their attention away from their true goal, there was only one course of action that presented itself as having a hope of controlling the situation. He would have just have to figure out a way of handling with the fallout while the Avengers were handling their rogue AI situation. He was sure Heimdall was thoroughly enjoying the scenario from his lofty vantage point.

On the very limited plus side, by inserting himself into the situation, Loki was now in a position to be of actual help to his mortal. Or he would have been, had the decision not been taken to leave him behind on the jet with Bruce as the others headed off to track their Ulysses Klaue lead. Both Anthony and Thor had argued for him to enter the ship alongside them, however they were overruled. As the less jet-propelled of the heroes had started out across the dusty span between their landing place and the ship ahead of them, Anthony had hung back to give him the explanation that the Earth’s Mightiest were reluctant to have him in their heads, especially when there was no guarantee the Maximoffs were even there.

‘Besides,’ Anthony had said, his suit whirring a little as gestured at the small, lead-lined box sat on the floor beside the jet’s pilot seat, ‘Someone needs to stay back and keep an eye on the Mind Stone. Don’t touch it if you don’t absolutely have to. Thor has not shut up about that boo boo on his hand I cannot cope with that being renewed for the return journey.’

His blasé demeanor was infectious, and so Loki had simply told him to be careful, fighting the urge to reach out to take his hand as he did. Anthony had given a wink before his helmet slotted into place and he set off to catch up to the others leaving he and Bruce alone on the jet.

There had been no word since and the horizon was still and quiet.

Loki leant in the open bay door of the jet, one shoulder resting against the hydraulic pole, arms folded over his chest, watching the ship for any hint of which might have been going on inside it. The lack of word was making him uneasy. No news was not necessarily bad news, but it was certainly not good news either, not knowing was one of Loki’s particularly hateful pet peeves.

He still had the Tesseract. He could simply Step in, just to make sure everything was going according to the limited plan of ‘don’t die’ that seemed to be the Avengers modus operandi. They wouldn't even have to know he was there. There were a number of problems however. Primarily, his sudden and unexplained disappearance would likely be reported by Bruce and would certainly not help the fragile trust he was garnering. Plus, there was a small risk of Thor recognizing that teleportation of such a style was not a part of Loki's typical repertoire. His possession of the Tesseract was something he was not so keen on revealing just yet, if at all, unless it was absolutely necessary.

Still, did any of that truly matter if they were in danger? If his mortal was in danger?

“So...” Bruce’s voice cut into his thoughts with a tone that suggested he had been working up to this for a while now.

Loki turned his head slightly as the man came to stand on the ramp, as far as its span would allow from him. His hands were in his pockets and he too had his gaze set on the ship ahead. He seemed relaxed, considering the situation and the present company, but Loki had already deemed him to be difficult to read.

“I thought Tony said it was of galactic importance that Thor didn't find out you were alive.” It wasn’t a question but there was certainly a request for clarity in the statement.

Loki regarded him for a moment then returned his gaze to the horizon, “It was.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bruce nod to himself, “Then why’re you here?”

“Holding the Mind Stone makes one take rash decisions,” Loki answered, simply.

“To reach your greatest desire?” Bruce inferred faster than Loki had anticipated.

He turned his head a little, searching Bruce’s irritatingly neutral expression for any hint of judgement, “I’m glad you were paying attention.”

Bruce was thoughtful for a moment then asked, “And is that desire to attack your brother or to just stop him from attacking Tony?”

The corner of Loki’s lip quirked, but he decided against answering. The man already knew. “What is your greatest desire, Bruce?”

“Why?” Bruce asked with a note of sudden suspicion at the diversion of conversation, “So you can use it to tempt me into something?”

Loki shrugged one shoulder and turned his attention away, “Merely making conversation. I would be amenable to returning the silence of awaiting some news that your friends are still alive if that is what you would prefer.”

That silence lingered for a couple of seconds Bruce shuffled in place, “...Peace.”

Loki rose his eyebrow at him in question.

“My greatest desire,” he confirmed, “Just… a bit of peace.”

“Peace is a common motive for war.”

Bruce sighed and nodded, “Don’t worry I’m not going anywhere near the Stone. The big guy does that whole operate on desire alone thing enough for both of us.”

The sentiment was somber and while Loki was sure he didn’t understand it in its entirety, he respected it enough allow the conversation to drift to its natural end. The two of them stood in surprisingly comfortable silence before it was broken by a crackling burst of sound from the communicator in Bruce’s hand.

“They’re here!”

It was Anthony’s voice, breathy and talking fast. Loki came out of his lean at the sound, exchanging and brief glance with Bruce as he stepped closer.

“The twins,” Anthony continued in sharp, snappy sentences that indicated that whatever the danger was, it was not over. “They got Thor and Steve.” There was a grunt of effort that cut him off.

Bruce lifted the handset to his mouth, “You need us? Is this Code Green?”

Loki clenched his jaw and began judging the distance from his position to the ship, squinting his eyes against the sun to see if he could see a way in, or any hint of what was happening within. He could Step there in an instant but without knowing the precise location of his destination there was always the danger of hitting a solid object when he rematerilalized.

“Hold off on that,” it was Barton speaking now, “The girl is down. Her brother got her out of here.”

“They’ve got what they came for, they’re clearing out,” Anthony added, “No visual on the twins, Bruce, Lokes, eyes up, they could be heading your way.”

As Loki watched, he could see several bright lines of light spearing from the ship in several directions, the Legionnaires he presumed. Anthony was likely among them but from this distance he tell the Legionnaires trails from his. Plumes of dust were starting to kick from about the ship’s base and he caught the occasional glimpse of a car speeding away through the rocky outcrops.

There was a blur in the corner of his eye, and Loki turned sharply. He saw nothing but a second later something slammed into his chest with enough force make him stagger backwards. His shields flared blue as they absorbed the majority of the impact, but the residual force was enough to knock the air from his lungs. Instinct kicked in, he engaged a glamor and disappeared from view to give him time to figure out what had just happened.

A man with white hair and a startled expression was stumbling back in a mirror of his own movements. Given the man’s sudden appearance and the apparent confusion at Loki’s sudden disappearance, it was not a great leap of logic to assume this was Pietro Maximoff. Which would imply his sister was likely not far behind. Loki began to back up to where the Mind Stone was sitting, hoping he could get to it before they noticed it was there.

Pietro glanced around quickly but after a second, he seemed to lose interest in trying to find Loki, instead turning his attention to Bruce, who was backing up into the jet. Just beyond Pietro, Loki spotted a young woman, with long dark hair and an odd red glow to her eyes and hands begin to approach up the ramp of the jet.

Both of them were fixated on Bruce and suddenly, Loki realized that just what kind of impact a series of fearful visions on a being controlled by instinct alone could be. They were not here for the Mind Stone. They may have yet to even understand that Ultron was not actually in possession of it. They were here for the Hulk.

In two long strides, Loki was at Bruce's back and reached out to place three fingers on the base of Bruce's skull. He flinched at the unexpected touch but said nothing, too distracted by the woman who was now just a couple of feet away. She lifted a hand a single tendril of what looked like red mist snaked through the air.

Loki readied himself for the impact.

It was a mental bombardment. The chaotic energy crackled through Bruce’s mind and thoughts, smashing itself at every possible crack searching for any tiny fracture it could drive itself through. It was a stlye of attack his was familiar with, but the sheer force of it him by surprise. Whatever had been done to this mortal, it must have come close to killing her in the process. Not even Thor would have withstood a level of power such as this for more than a couple of seconds.

Loki concentrated.

Energy gathered and flowed from the air around him, channeled along his arm and over Bruce’s mind where it pooled into a shimmering mental shield. The red attacking force found itself rebuffed, sending ripples out across the shield. Wanda Maximoff’s face blossomed into an expression of dumb-founded surprise. She blinked a couple of times looking to her brother for some kind of answer to why her power had not taken hold as it should have. Pietro could not offer one.

Loki held his position.

She scowled and redoubled her effort and Loki could feel the energy sparking off his shielding. Bruce seemed to flinch and Loki reached out his other hand to place on his shoulder. There was little else he could do except hope that she give in from exhaustion soon. His thoughts were at least safe for the moment, there was a physicality to her abilities that Loki was not so certain he could defend against. She was powerful, but whether it be deliberate or not, she lacked fine control of that power. There was no telling what she might be capable of if pushed too far.

“Ultron’s gone,” Anthony’s voice came over the communicator that Bruce still clutched in one hand. Wanda dropped her attention to it and the distraction brought about a fade in her power. “Heading back to the jet. Lokes...we might need your help.”

“Lokes...?” Wanda narrowed her eyes slightly.

“Sister,” Piertro leant in, “Ultron is gone we should leave.”

Wanda’s expression screwed up in frustration as she stared down a silent Bruce before nodding silently and the Maximoffs disappeared in a blur.

Loki held still for a long moment, having too much experience in trickery to let his guard down just yet.

“Green Team, you copy?” Anthony’s voice spoke from the communicator, concerned, “Could do with proof of life?”

Bruce slowly lifted the communicator to his mouth, “We’re here. Everything’s fine.”

“You sound shaky,” Anthony pointed out, accurately.

Confident that the Maximoffs had indeed retreated, Loki let go of the shielding and allowed himself to reappear. Bruce turned to look at him as the hand that had been on his neck was lowered, “We...um...we met the twins, but we’re good.”

Anthony was quiet for a second before saying, “We’re on our way back, debrief when we get there. Glad you guys are ok.”

“I’m...I’m gonna go lie down,” Bruce took a deep breath as he let the communicator drop to side again. He took a couple of steps away before turning back to Loki, “Thanks by the way.”

Loki accepted the gratitude with a silent nod and turned his attention back to the open door of the jet where a familiar red and gold glint was streaking towards them at speed. The sight brought a smile to his face.

 


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Guys, just wanted to say Happy New Year! Apologies for the delay in update, I hope it's not so bad start to the twenties.
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading, commenting, kudosing and bookmarking, i appreciate every single one. Have a fantastic year!

The tanker had been all kinds of a shitshow. Whether Ultron had known they had been coming or not, he and his enhanced lackeys had soundly beaten the Avengers and barely broken a sweat doing it. The great and mighty heroes had cockily strolled into the ship with a half-assed plan and delusions of grandeur and Ultron and his robots had walked all over them. No one had gotten hurt thankfully, but that was luck, not skill. Probably the only reason they'd made it out of there with all their limbs was because Ultron was solely interested in what he was there to collect. And because physical damage wasn’t what they had to be worried about. Wanda Maximoff had made short work of them, turning even the Mighty Thor into mute, rocking lumps of terror with just a few words and a bit of red mist. Meanwhile, Ultron had gotten his vibranium and they were still none the wiser as to why he even wanted it.

Tony had only managed to get a few words out of the AI itself before it had shut down the Legionnaire and that was nothing more than threats.

Ironically, and likely much to Cap's annoyance, the only victories they had from the whole fight, and he used the word in its loosest possible definition, were down to Loki. While the Avengers were having their asses handed to them, their ‘archnemesis’ had made sure Ultron had been made none the wiser that his version of the Scepter was incomplete, which meant the Mind Stone was still safe, and he had been able to completely thwart whatever had been planned for Bruce.

There was a whole terrifying list of what could have happened if Loki hadn’t been there when the Maximoffs had gone for the Hulk, but the sight of the guy curled up in one of the seats of the Quinjet quietly sleeping off a headache was enough to calm those thoughts pretty effectively.

Tony exhaled, feeling his shoulders slump at the one bit of good news they'd had all day, and retreated out of the jet, back towards where Loki was stood at the base of the jet’s ramp, arms folded as he watched the empty suit with a curious frown. It occurred to Tony that this was the first time he'd seen the new sentry mode he'd created.

“Careful, I’ve not had that chat with Friday yet,” Tony commented lightly as he wandered down the ramp, “She might get the wrong idea.”

Loki dropped his gaze from the suit for a second then up to Tony, “I'm sorry…about what happened to Jarvis.”

A sharp twist to Tony's stomach made him lose contact with his vocabulary. No one had said that to him yet.

“He fought Ultron, in those last moments,” Loki continued, drawing Tony’s attention again, “Gave me time to get the Mind Stone from the Scepter before Ultron was in control of the cameras.”

Tony swallowed and nodded, “Do AIs get to go to Valhalla?” He was never any good at this stuff. Jokes were the only way he knew to cope. Loki gave a weak smile in lieu of a response, he knew Tony well enough to know it wad a rhetorical question. He sniffed and mentally underscored the conversation as he reached the base of the ramp, “How long will he be out? Bruce I mean.”

“A couple of hours give or take,” Loki said, “You can wake him if you like, ensure he's still the man you remember.”

“Nah, I trust you,” Tony replied, and looked out towards the tanker on the horizon. The small shapes of the rest of the Avengers could be seen making their way back. “Two magicians battling out in my head? I fall asleep after just one.”

Loki chuckled, “Not quite the same thing.”

“It was a good thing you were here,” Tony said. He was stood close to Loki, side by side as they both watched the others making their way back. Something felt off between them. Loki was being standoffish, keeping his distance, barely speaking to him. It was probably related to the whole battle for the Mind Stone and the sudden destruction of the whole ‘Loki Definitely is Dead' ruse. This was the first time they'd gotten any opportunity to speak, and it was a window that was closing, even if it was at the pace of a limping hero.

“Of course,” Loki answered simply before turning his head running his gaze over Tony evaluatively, pausing for a second on the cut on his cheek, “Shame I could not do the same for you.”

“Don't worry about me, I’m fine,” the standard response fell from his lips before he could help it. Of course he was fine. He was always fine. So what if Ultron was probably his fault? Or if everyone in that tanker had a bone to pick with him, and everyone else was just in the firing line? Or if Loki was here against every version of his better judgement. Or if Jarvis was dead. He was fine.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Loki raise an eyebrow at the obvious lie but Tony refused to acknowledge it. When that became clear, Loki physically turned to face him, unfolding his arms and lifting one hand towards his face. Tony turned his head at the movement, recognizing the motion from many times before. But to his dismay, Loki paused, hand barely raised as a look of irritation passed over his features and he glanced off to the horizon again.

“I doubt they can see us from there,” Tony said, taking a guess at the cause of the rare moment of uncertainty. In actuality, the Avengers probably could see them and what they were doing, but screw it and screw them. He needed this right now.

Loki took the statement as permission. His fingers brushed lightly across the cut bringing with them a sharp sting of pain. Tony winced a little but it barely registered under just the sensation of Loki's skin on his. It had been...holy shit, weeks since they’d been this close. In between Loki’s new-found kingdom, the whole Hydra business, then the Scepter, Tony could hardly remember the last time they’d just...existed. No pretending, no fighting, no ruse.

 And jesus christ, he missed him. He hadn‘t realized how touch starved he'd been until Loki’s hand was on his cheek and there was just a few inches between them. Tony sighed and leant into Loki’s hand, eyes closed. Screw the pain. It was sure as hell worth it.

“I should have been in there,” Loki said quietly after a second, “Perhaps I could have-”

“If you were in there, they would’ve gotten to the big guy,” Tony told him, recognizing the start of a self-deprecating spiral when he saw one. “It’s just a scratch, don’t worry about it.”

“The Maximoff girl, she didn’t...”

“Stayed out of reach.”

“This time maybe.”

“It’s just a scratch Lokes,” Tony told him tiredly, opening his eyes and reluctantly coming back to reality, “I’m fine, promise.”

Loki said nothing but Tony got the distinct feeling his placations were, unsurprisingly, quite unconvincing.

Tony sighed and reached up to take the hand from his cheek. They couldn't just stand there, no matter how much he wanted to. Not that what he wanted had mattered for a while now. “As much as I’d love to stand here gazing romantically into each other's eyes, the others will be back soon. What will big brother think?”

Loki chuckled a little, his hand closing around Tony’s, “You mistake me for someone who cares.”

Tony scowled suddenly, “Last I checked it seemed pretty important.”

“Times change, plans adapt. It is the nature of reality.”

Tony gave a shallow smile at the vague allusions to some plan that Loki may or may not and then licked his lips as he checked the progress of the others on their slow journey back. He chewed the inside of his lip in thought then looked back to Loki, “Look, we’ve got maybe five minutes before they get back. I need to know something.”

“Anything.”

It hadn’t really occurred to him when Loki had first appeared, he was too relieved to see that he was just ok after the attack to give the gift horse a dental check up, but the more time passed, the more it bothered him. It bothered him how much Loki had sacrificed for him. For something that shouldn’t really have mattered. There was a part of him that knew there wouldn’t be a logical answer. The guy had been holding on to the Mind Stone, but still, he needed to hear the answer from Loki himself. Maybe then he could see it for the grand romantic compliment it was and figure out a way to stop the haze of blame that was starting to settle over himself.

Tony took a deep breath, “You must have known Thor wasn’t going to hurt me, not really.” Loki raised his chin a little at the sentence. He knew this was coming. “And for the last however long you’ve been drilling it into my head that the one thing that matters is that no one else find out you’re alive, especially not your brother. And yet, here you are.”

“Would you be offended if I told you that I was not in my right mind?” Loki gave a soft smile held his gaze as he replied, the answer obviously clear in his mind and held with an assumption it would be satisfactory.

Tony shrugged one shoulder, “I’d actually be fairly relieved. If what you’ve been telling me is right then you put the Nine Realms in danger when you showed up like that. If you'd have been thinking straight, I'd need something more than just wanting to protect me.”

Loki scrutinized him for a second, working through some silent thought process. The only hint as to what he was thinking showed in the slight crease of sadness on his forehead, “You don’t believe you're worth the risk.”

“My life over the Nine Realms?” Tony scoffed not entirely sure whether Loki was joking, “No, obviously, its not worth the risk.”

Loki simply smiled at him, “Agree to disagree.”

Tony scowled at him as it became very clear he was in fact not joking at all, “You can’t mean that.”

Loki paused to take a patient breath before responding, “Thor is quite capable of snapping my neck if the notion were to take him, let alone yours,” his smile was fading now that he was grasping the seriousness of Tony’s tone. “Even had I been able to think straight at the time, I won’t apologize for wanting to protect you, Anthony.”

Tony sighed and rubbed his eyes with the thumb and forefinger of the hand that wasn't linked with Loki's, “Obviously, I don’t want you to apologize, Lokes, but come on,” he threw his hand up in tired exasperation, “I've got enough on my conscience from one realm right now not to have fate of the other eight too.”

Loki glanced away, thinking again. One day, Tony hoped he'd be able to read Loki as easily as Loki could read him, but even after the years they'd known each other, he still had the ability to be completely impassive if he wanted.

“What would you have me say?” when he eventually looked back the smile had gone completely, “That stepping in to protect you was foolish and rash. I know it was. Would you have me assure you that it no longer matters that Thor knows I live? Because it certainly does. Should I pretend that you are not more important to me than these realms? Because I refuse to do so.”

Tony bit his tongue and didn't interject despite desperately wanting to. He was just hoping to some other god that this one was about to get to his point, because so far, he wasn't helping Tony's mood.

“The realms are not in the disarray they were not so long ago. It may take some careful planning but there will be a solution to my predicament,” Loki paused for emphasis and made sure he had Tony's full attention before continuing, “I am no fool, Anthony, my being here is protecting the realms from its more immediate danger.”

“Ultron.”

Loki gave a small half-smile, and shook his head, “No. My indifference to them were you no longer a part of them.”

Tony eyed him, attempting to maintain some level of irritation, or annoyance, but once again, the bastard had side-stepped and allayed every issue Tony had thrown at him. The only thing Tony could think about was whether there could ever be something Tony was able to stay angry at him about.

“So you’re only saving the world because I’m in it?” Tony asked, with an attempt at aloofness.

A smirk began to press into Loki’s cheek, “They would be an exceptionally boring place without you.”

“For a second there I thought you were protecting them out of the goodness of your heart,” Tony quipped back, but he'd given up on fighting his smile.

“Well I'm glad to have clarified the situation,” Loki chuckled and looked back out to the Avengers. He took a moment to judge their distance, “Speaking of hearts, I would ask how much you would have them know of us.”

Tony gave a confused frown, “I’m not hiding us from them. You don’t have to pretend we don’t know each other.”

Loki scoffed, “Judging by number of weapons pointed at me earlier, I can’t imagine our association would do much good to your reputation.”

“Could it do any worse than an army of killer robots I lied about creating?” Tony replied lightheartedly, “Look, Bruce already knows, Cap knows of…something. Nat might know, she makes too many vague allusions to really know anything about her. And according to Thor we have enough of a ‘bond' that he came to tell me you'd died,” he finished with a casual shrug, “If you want, I’ll tell them properly after we've gotten my toys back in the box. If they don’t already want me dead by then you’re not going to make much difference. In the meantime, don't waste too much effort trying to convince them we're strangers, might give them some time to get used to the idea.”

The smile Loki gave in response was one of those rare, truthful signs of surprised happiness. Tony hadn’t seen one in a long time, but the fact that it had come about at admission that Tony wasn’t ashamed to know the man was bittersweet.

Tony sniffed and turned back to the Quinjet before the atmosphere could get too heavy, “Right, I'd better start this baby up. I imagine they won’t want to be hanging around too long,” he turned, gently slipping his hand from Loki's grip and started up the ramp, speaking over his shoulder as he went, “By the way, Mind Stone or no Mind Stone, I’m glad you’re here.”

Loki smiled up at him, “As am I.”

With that, Tony jogged up the ramp to fire up the engines.

 


	22. Chapter 22

The return journey felt less tense than the flight out to intercept Ultron. Though it was equally quiet, the Avengers ad either become accustomed to Loki’s presence or were simply too busy licking their wounds to pay him much mind as he leant against a section of wall near the closed bay door. It did help that they were all too exhausted to stand for the flight and all the available seats faced forward. Loki couldn't help but notice the disjointed thinking in that there were five seats in the jet and yet six heroes, leaving one of them to stand. Unfortunately, Thor had been the one to valiantly take on that sacrifice and was currently stood opposite him, arms folded, staring at the floor in concentrated thought.

The silence gave Loki some time to go some way towards that solution he had rather presumptively promised Anthony existed. The easiest thing to do would be to tell Thor everything, make a show of Thor’s coronation with Loki continuing his masquerade, and then slowly transition himself out of the role until Odin’s true condition could be revealed. It could be straight forward, if a little time consuming, were Loki so certain that Thor would never agree to such a deceit. It would not be honourable, or truthful, or some other word that was better suited to poetry than the delicate intricacies of reality. Besides, there was no telling whether Thor would even believe him that Odin’s condition was natural, and not some scheme to take Asgard for himself. Even though he was maintaining a precarious alliance with Heimdall, the guardian of the Bifrost would not be above detaining Loki once again if Thor demanded it. Then Loki would be forced to go on the run, with a stolen Infinity Stone no less. There was no peace to be found if that eventuality. And certainly no returning to Midgard.

No, revealing all to Thor should be avoided if at all possible.

“I need to find the Waters of Sight,” Thor said, suddenly and quite rudely derailing his thought train.

Loki blinked and then let his features settle into a frown. Judging by the man’s stoic expression that was now resting on him, allowing an expectant silence to string out, he apparently assumed that his statement was a reasonable one. As though it wasn't the first thing the man had said to him since demanding he be allowed to stay in the first place. The only answer that Loki could conceive was, “Why?”

Thor shuffled in place, indicating some internal predicament he was fighting before he glanced off at the Avengers, none of whom seemed to be paying the conversation any mind. Agent Barton was focusing on piloting, Bruce was still asleep, and the others didn't seem far off. When Thor looked back, he exhaled audibly, “She showed me Hel.”

He was speaking about as quietly as Loki though him capable, evidently not wanting to disturb his friends, but the gravity with which he spoke made Loki scoff, “She merely showed you your fear of Hel,” he said, matching Thor's volume.

“You can't know that, I must find the Waters to understand what threat it poses,” Thor replied, urgently.

“She’s mortal, Thor, she likely doesn’t even know what Hel is,” Loki told him, hoping to end this conversation sooner rather than later, “Don’t go gallivanting across the realm while your allies need you here.”

Thor scrutinised him for a long moment before his eyes narrowed almost comically, “You know where it is.”

It seemed that Thor was learning to read between lines. Loki had come across Midgards pools a number of decades ago, though he hadn't exactly used any form of cartography that Thor would understand. Loki sighed, more irritated at himself for not hiding his knowledge better, “I know that the Waters speak in nothing infuriating riddles that will answer none of your questions.”

“Where is it, Loki?” Thor asked again, a little more forcefully this time, “If Asgard is in danger, I must know.”

Loki held up a calming hand before Thor could get too over excited, withholding an amused smirk at the irony. “One realm at a time, Thor, surely.”

Thor simply glared.

Loki rolled his eyes and relented, “They're in a cave system somewhere, I'm afraid that's all I know. I couldn't even give you a compass bearing.”

“Then take me,” Thor said, instantly.

“There is no telling how long it would take to get there,” Loki replied, starting to mentally running backwards through the various hops, skips, jumps through the realms from the Waters and some other point on Midgard he knew the physical location of. He gave up once the number of passages entered double digits. Of course, he always had the Tesseract, he could Step there with Thor in an instant. However, he would then have to try and explain why he was carrying an Infinity Stone that should be very much locked up in Asgard's vaults.

Thor remained silent.

Loki pressed his lips together and gestured to the rest of the dozing Avengers. “And what of them? I would feel uncomfortable leaving your friends undefended against further mental attacks for an indeterminate period of time while you and I went on some jaunt across spacetime.”

Thor scoffed, “Leaving Stark you mean.”

On some deep-seated instinct borne of little more than lingering familial embarrassment Loki forced his best impression of amusement at a ridiculous notion onto his face. Apparently, it was not entirely convincing, because the corner of Thor’s mouth began to curl into a knowing smile. In a bid to head off any further discussion of that subject, Loki came out of his lean with an exaggerated effort, “Here, let me see what you saw. If it is something to worry about, I’ll take you to Midgard's Waters myself.”

Thor relaxed out of his posture, letting his arms drop to his sides as Loki stepped up into arms reach. The man was familiar enough with the process not to be suspicious or threatened when Loki reached up and placed the heel of his hand on his forehead. With a deep inhale, Loki began to mentally prepare himself for entering his former brother’s thoughts.

“How long has it been going on?” he asked, quieter now the gap between them was lessened.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Loki muttered quickly. He could handle discussing the great threats of the universe with his former brother, but his relationships had barely been a topic he'd discussed comfortably with the man when they were young. Loki shuffled in place and flexed his fingers, “Hold still.”

“Oh please,” Thor said, ignoring Loki’s less than subtle attempt at diverting the topic of conversation with all the social grace of an ox, “Don’t try to tell me that you’re here defending Midgard out of the goodness of your heart. Besides, as much as you might like to deny it, we did grow up together. I've seen enough of your bumbling attempts at romances to know what one looks like.”

Loki felt his jaw clench a little and warmth rose into his cheeks as he tried in vain to focus. The idiot was not helping things.

“Are you blushing, little brother?” Thor asked, chuckling.

“Will you be quiet?” Loki hissed, “It’s hard enough to understand your mind as it is without you clouding it with ridiculous childhood nostalgia.”

Thor gave an amused grunt and fell silent.

After taking a second to relax and refocus, it only took a few seconds to relive the visions Thor had been shown. They were little more than a series of images of a some dark potential future made up of vague warnings from a blinded Heimdall, images of Asgard fallen and burning. None of which was based in any form of reality that Loki knew of. Contrary to what many believed, Loki had never actually been to Helheim and no intention of doing so, but he knew this mortal's magic and it was in no way clairvoyant.

“So how long has it been going on?” Thor interrupted again seemingly unable to understand the concept of concentration.

Loki exhaled sharply and conceded to the topic that was clearly not about to be dropped. “Two years.”

There was no small amount of satisfaction in the surprise that Thor tried and failed to hide, “Two years...” he breathed, “And you never said anything.”

“You never asked,” Loki replied simply, taking his hand from Thor's head and stepping back to a more comfortable distance.

Thor was quiet for a moment, the curtness of Loki’s statement making it apparent that there was no brotherly moment to be shared here, “Is that where you’ve been?”

“No.”

“Then where?”

Loki ignored the question, “The visions are simply a manifestation of your own fears. There is nothing to worry about.”

Thor regarded him, his expression caught somewhere between irritation and hurt that his question had been resolutely dismissed. He paused for a moment, “I can’t believe you’re alive.”

“Did I make it so hard to?” Loki asked, rhetorically of course. At the time, Loki had had no intention of this faux death ploy, but when the opportunity arose...

“I saw you die in my arms,” Thor said, a little more force in his voice, “ mourned you.”

Loki had to fight the urge to roll his eyes as he had flashbacks to not so dissimilar conversation they’d had after their last reunion on Midgard. This time, however, Loki’s thoughts were much less angry, simply tired of Thor’s misguided attempts at accusatory guilt tripping. It was a form of reconciliation the man had used all too often throughout their upbringings for it to work anymore. “Yes, so I hear. So much so you left my remains on Svartalfheim.”

The first hint of a frown flickered for a moment as Thor was taken aback, “Midgard was under attack, there was no time to-”

“Before that, then,” Loki cut in, “How long was I to be left in solitude before I could be deemed worthy of your company? Even after you learned of what happened to me.”

The frown that had been working to take hold faded into surprise, confusion and what could have been the beginnings of regret, though it was hard to tell. It was not an emotion Thor regularly displayed.

“When I fell from the Bifrost,” Loki continued, maintaining his voice in one patient tone, despite thr growing turmoil in his gut. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the Avengers were paying more attention now. Loki ignored them, “How long was it before you gave up the search?”

“You fell beyond Heimdall’s sight,” Thor answered, quickly, like a child eager to avoid getting in trouble. He too paid no attention to the curious gazes cast their way.

“Have you not eyes of your own?”

Thor exhaled, a muscle in his jaw clenched as he worked his next excuse, “Odin forbade us from leaving the Nine Realms and from visiting you. He is my King, how cou-”

“I was your brother!” Loki snapped with more force than he had meant as the years of emotion he'd worked so hard to keep in check, bubbled over just a little and was rewarded by the look of surprised hurt on Thor’s face. Loki chuckled darkly and shook his head, “I often wonder how much could have been avoided if you’d defied your king for anything other than petty revenge of a slighted ego.”

The Avengers were all watching now, an atmosphere of apprehension forming. Thor watched him silently for a long, drawn out second, “Was?”

Loki didn’t fight the urge this time, and looked at him with open distain. The point of this whole conversation flew straight over Thor’s head as the man honed in on the one thing that might affect him. Even after all these years, he had not learned any different. To an extent, Loki could not blame him. Thor was not a bad person, if anything he was too far the opposite, too proud and too loyal to an unworthy father. A grand Prince who could only barely begin to understand that there were impacts outside of his personal bubble because he had been brought up with the understanding that there effectively was no other experience worth considering. How could one fight decades of upbringing with nothing but a few restrained conversations?

“I have had my family dictated to me for centuries,” Loki hissed, bitterly, “In all that time, I was your brother at every turn, every hardship. You were rarely mine.”

Thor looked broken.

“Is there a problem here?”

Captain Steve Rogers spoke with a tone of calm but dangerous authority and Loki exhaled.

He took a moment to box up those emotions and shove them away again. He glanced about the jet, gaze lingering on the Captain who was stood out of his seat watching them. Loki was annoyed at himself that he'd not noticed the movement. Once he'd noticed that, he noticed Anthony was watching too, though there was different edge to the concern on his features.

“Apologies,” Loki said, as he made an obvious show of de-escalating, forcing his shoulders to slump, his chin to drop and his gaze to fall to the floor, where it rested for a moment then lifted back to Thor. The man had not moved a muscle. He looked back to the Captain, his most diplomatic smile in place, “Thor and I have some issues to discuss. Nothing to worry about.”

“I'm sure,” Captain said, watching him carefully.

At first, Thor had looked as though he was going to retort or protest, but the thought apparently passed unaddressed and he simply gave a resolute nod.

Loki felt something at that. It was an odd sensation, one that he could not identify as to whether it was positive, or negative, or simply extant. He packed it away with the rest of his emotions. Now was not the time to examine it too deeply. The Captain regarded then for a moment longer then slowly retook his seat and the others followed his cue. Anthony's eyes lingered a little longer but Loki didn't acknowledge him. He had acknowledged more than enough today.

 


	23. Chapter 23

The night here was cool and quiet and its sky was scattered with Midgard’s stars. It was a far and welcome cry from the light polluted skies nights that Loki was used to seeing from Anthony’s Tower in the middle of one of the realm’s brightest cities. The Barton family home was almost the opposite. The only light here came from the little that slipped through the unobscured windows and the couple of warm lamps that lit the front porch. All it took to find almost complete darkness was to turn one’s back on the building and look out into the country expanse. Staring out into the blackness, he was beginning to feel a modicum of calm for the first time since they had arrived.

It was peaceful now he was alone.

The argument on the Quinjet had put him in a foul mood. Of course, he was irritated with Thor, but realistically it was no more or less than was typical for his more recent interactions with the man. What had truly angered him was that he allowed himself to be goaded into a bitter and childish spat that did nothing but fracture the minimal trust he was beginning to earn from the Avengers. The feeling had lingered even after Thor had flown off, following through with his intention to seek out the Waters no doubt. He had not stopped by to explain and Loki had not concerned himself with inquiring.

In fact, after the jet had touched down, Loki had gone more out of his way than usual to avoid the others. Whilst they were inside the house, presumably being introduced to Barton’s family, Loki had remained without, under no assumption that he would be welcome or even allowed inside. Instead, he made his way to the furthest point of the wooden perimeter fence that was still visible and leant against it, hoping to get a little time to himself. He would have gone further, perhaps even back to Asgard, if he was not acutely aware that his sudden disappearance would have not have been well-received.

From the point he had chosen, he could see the majority of the homestead and as the day passed, he had attempted to ignore the Avengers as they went about recovering, though it was not a simple matter. After Thor had left, they remained in the house for a couple of hours, before the Captain, Agent Barton, and Anthony emerged, all of whom looked briefly in Loki’s direction and then shared a few words he couldn't hear from where he was. Whatever they had said, their interest in him was quickly lost and Barton peeled off to remove the Quinjet from the property, meanwhile Anthony and the Captain disappeared into nearby shed, emerging a few moments later with a long-handled axe each.

The sight of Anthony attempting to chop timber had brought about a muted spark of amusement. While being an exceptional mind and much fitter than the average mortal, Anthony was evidently unfamiliar with such a task. Loki smiled fondly to himself as he watched the man work.

That spark extinguished as an argument that began to develop between them. They were too far away for Loki to get the full gist of what they were saying, but Anthony was barely in control of his limbs when he was calm and while he was riled up they were almost a language unto themselves. The fact that they repeatedly gestured in Loki’s direction and then up into the sky gave him a firm gist of the topic of their disagreement.

It was hard not to interfere. That inherent drive to defend his mortal to the end was not an easy one to overcome, even when not enhanced by the effects of the Mind Stone. Why did Anthony have a habit of picking fights with beings far stronger than he? The sight of the Captain's anger peaking with the manual destruction of a substantial log, though was enough to make Loki's fists clenched, and take half a step forward before thankfully, Clint Barton’s wife, who’s name he had yet to learn, stepped before Loki had to.

He didn't know what she asked of them, but Anthony nodded, immediately masking any discomfort with the practiced ease of a man who'd spent his life doing so. Loki considered following Anthony into the barn, but the thought did not go far. He was not in the mood for conversation at all, especially now. Now, he'd rather keep his eyes on the Captain.

When Anthony reappeared not long after with Director Fury in tow, Loki was glad he hadn't followed his mortal. A conversation the man was probably not the best idea while he was in such a mood. The Director set his gaze on him the moment he left the barn with no hint of surprise. Whether he knew of his presence ahead of time or if Anthony had been the one to break the news, Loki couldn’t be sure.

Fury kept his eye on Loki for the duration of the journey to the house, and Loki would not be the one to break eye contact. Rather, he allowed a slight, vaguely amused smile to leak onto his face, an expression that was aided in no small part by the idle consideration of how long the Director must have been loitering in the barn to allow for his dramatic reveal. Given that the Avengers had been on the property for a while by that point with no sign of his arrival, it must have been a few hours. Loki made a mental note not to mention to Barton that if Fury could find his way here then perhaps his ‘safehouse’ was not quite so off the grid as he suspected.

The Captain broke away from his lumber to greet the Director with a firm handshake and a warm grin before the three of them disappeared into the building, and Loki was left in blessed solitude as the evening became dusk, then became night.

Loki hadn't worried about tracking exact time, descending into further thought of the Thor issue, but it was likely just over two hours after full darkness had overtaken the homestead when he heard the door to the house open. He lifted his chin to see the Captain and the Director stood out in the porch. They spoke quietly to each other for a moment before the Captain descended the few stairs and headed in Loki's direction. The Director meandered to the fence of the porch and leant on it, staring at Loki, eye narrowed.

Loki held the Director’s gaze once again, maintaining a neutral expression as the Captain approached. Did he really think that he could intimidate him in such a manner? Perhaps he was not aware that Loki was no longer impressed by the overt disdain of monocular men.

Loki had to break eye contact first, however, moving his gaze to acknowledge Captain Rogers when he came within in a few feet.

Upon making eye contact, the Captain gave a broad and apparently warm smile and came to a stop. He took a second to look up around the sky.

“Nice night,” he said in greeting.

Loki simply raised an eyebrow at him, wondering at which point during his self-imposed isolation he had indicated that anyone was open to approach him.

The Captain appeared unfazed and held out a bowl he was holding, offering it to Loki, “Here. Asgardian’s eat too right.”

A slight frown settled on Loki’s forehead as he reached out and took the bowl from him. In the low light, Loki could see its contents was a form of thick soup, though not what it was made up of. It was warm in his hand. “Thank you.”

The Captain nodded his acknowledgement of the gratitude, that smile remaining in place and Loki got the impression he was wearing it as a mask, “I've seen your brother eat and if you’re anything like him the-”

“Is there something I can help you with, Captain?” Loki interrupted before the comparison to Thor could be spoken in its entirety.

“I can’t just be bringing you dinner?” he replied, though did not sound surprised at being questioned.

The corner of Loki’s lips pressed into his cheek in a humorless smile, “Director Fury is openly staring at me from the porch. I can see Anthony loitering in one of the windows, feigning cleaning crockery or something along those lines. Our admittedly limited previous interactions have been many things but friendly is not one of them. If you simply cared for my well-being you would have sent your Man of Iron with the soup. Something tells me this is not simply a kind gesture,” he paused to emphasize how easily he had seen through the basic ruse, “I am not in the mood for wasting words, so there is no need to hide behind a polite pretense.”

The Captain’s smile took on a note of being reluctantly impressed but didn’t look behind him, either well aware of who was where or at least wishing to pretend he was. A small amount of the warmth faded from his eyes, “I want to know why you’re here.”

Loki frowned, “I tell you I am in no mood for meaningless conversation and your first question is the one that I have already answered.”

“You’re not exactly known for honesty,” the Captain pointed out, so far unfazed by Loki. His maintained poise was beginning to irritate further. “Case in point, you’ve been presumed dead for the last few months.”

“By you,” Loki said airily, lifting the bowl of food to his nose. He was not especially hungry, but the pretense of disinterest might get the rise from the Captain he was looking for.

“Some people knew you were alive?” the Captain asked, a note of annoyance leaking through his mask. It was satisfying.

“Unaccustomed to not being in the need to know crowd are you, Captain?” Loki smiled more fully, his dark mood not so much blinding him to possible ramifications of provoking the de facto leader of the Avengers, simply disregarding them. Besides, the man had earned Loki's ire when he made threats to Anthony's wellbeing. “The people who needed to know I was alive knew, and those who didn’t, didn’t.”

“Thor didn’t need to know?”

“Quite the opposite.”

“Why’s that?” the hint of genuine confusion was pleasing.

“It's none of your concern,” Loki told him.

“Given that the last time you disappeared you reappeared with an army at your heels, I think it is,” the Captain said, that tone of strained patience slipping into his words.

“Would you prefer a conversation with a point, Captain?” Loki offered almost speaking over the end of his sentence, hoping to annoy the man away from that particular discussion, “One about the imminent threat to your world perhaps?”

“Wasn’t so long ago, that threat was you.”

“And yet, I stand before you having spent the last two days in your aid,” Loki responded, forcing his words to remain unhindered, despite the flash of unease that skittered over his thoughts. His last excursion to Midgard was still not a comfortable topic of conversation, even in the rare moments that Anthony managed had lowered his guard enough for the topic to be brought up. He dropped the smile for a moment to scowl in exaggerated thought, “I had assumed that I had earned a measure of understanding.”

The Captain remained stony and silent, apparently having a higher threshold for this than Loki had initially anticipated.

Loki sighed and allowed his smile to emerge once more, “Captain, I have done all I can to show you that I am no danger to you. I have held my tongue save to answer your questions. I have followed your instructions at every juncture, often in spite of my better judgement. I have kept my distance unless absolutely necessary,” he paused and tilted his head, “What more would you have of me? My absolute silence? My absence from your sight?” he said sarcastically, “Perhaps some solemn vow on a life you feel I care for that my intentions are pure?”

Captain Rogers shifted his weight and raised his chin, “Swear on Tony.”

Loki narrowed his eyes, “Excuse me?”

“A life you care for right?” the Captain said, sounding more confident than Loki would have liked, “After that blow out in the jet, there’s only one I can think of. I mean, he’s the reason you’re here right? He asked you to be.”

“Ah...” Loki nodded his head a little as he came to the realization and leant away to regard the Captain more fully, “We finally come to the crux of the conversation. You don't care about my intentions...you're concerned about his.”

“We’re in a dangerous situation,” the Captain said, simply, “I need to know I’m not facing more than one front.”

Loki narrowed his eyes as he considered the man, the picture of precise confidence, as though there was nothing in existence that could shake him. A shame, Loki thought, that such a man was so mistaken. “You have an exceptionally egocentric view of your world, Captain.”

“How’s that?”

“You assume everything that could be a threat to you is inherently your enemy,” Loki said, “Thereby making the mistaken assumption that they have any interest in you at all.”

The Captain rose an impassive eyebrow at him, “The ant and the boot, huh?”

Loki paused to fight the swell of tightness in his chest and covered it with a lazy, dangerous smirk, “Thanos's words. Not mine.”

“Funny, they sounded like yours when you said them.”

How dare he? Loki regarded him through narrowed eyes for a long, drawn out second, before chuckling and shaking his head in mild disbelief, glancing off to the dark horizon to calm himself.

“You do not trust me,” he started again, looking back to the Captain with no more hint of any form of smile on his face, “I am intimately familiar with the concept and it is one that no longer concerns me. Whether it is well-founded or not, it is irrelevant. There would be nothing you could to remove me should you wish to, so I don’t see why you would waste your energy.”

“You’re saying I should trust you because I can’t stop you even if I wanted to?” the Captain scoffed.

“Your realm is of little interest to me, it is violent, judgmental, and frankly, primitive” Loki responded, “You have concerns for Anthony’s intentions, but had he not rightfully requested my aid regarding an artifact you do not understand, I would not be here. The Mind Stone would be in the hands of this AI, and your friend would have been at the mercy of the Maximoffs. Would that have been preferable to having to confront the reality of the realm of grey otherwise hidden by your monochrome vision of the light and the dark?”

The Captain remained silent, watching him carefully. It was the first overt sign that Loki had gotten under his skin.

Loki chuckled leant forward a little, knowing full well he was about to push this too far but unable to help himself now that the Captain’s armor had cracked. He tilted his head a little, “Have you considered the possibility that if I truly were your enemy, as you believe, you would not have to ask me for confirmation.”

Captain Rogers rose his chin at the statement. Disappointingly limited as responses went, but given who he was speaking to, Loki found his entertainment where he could.

Eventually, the Captain presented a flat smile, “Then we’re done here. Have a nice night.”

He turned and started back towards the house without waiting for a response. Loki watched him go for a few steps before calling out, “A word of advice, Captain.”

Captain Rogers stopped and looked over his shoulder.

“Take care how you handle your perceived threats,” Loki smiled, and relaxed back against the fence behind him, “You may find yourself drawing their interest more than you might like.”

Without responding, the Captain walked away.

Loki let his smile endure. After all, he was here as a favor, he was entitled to have a little bit of fun. Maybe now he would get that privacy he was looking for, at least until word got back to Anthony of the not so veiled, if playful threats he'd made to Captain Rogers himself. His mortal was likely not going to be happy.

For now, though, he could be fairly certain would be left alone with the night sky and an exceptional soup at least until morning.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Folks, first of all, thank you all so so much for your continued support of this fic, for all the kudos and bookmarks, it makes me so happy to see each and everyone of them!! Second, I apologise for not uploading a new chapter for a few weeks now, life has gotten in the way a bit. I've not done with this whatsoever I promise, there just might not be a very regular schedule. Third I can only apologise for the slightly shorter chapter here, but it's both a show that I've not forgotten this fic and it felt like it stood ok on its own as a chapter and it would have felt wedged into a longer chapter otherwise. 
> 
> Thank you again for bearing with me. I so hope you're still enjoying this and I hope you're having a wonderful day!!
> 
> x

Loki’s assumption regarding his solitude proved true. After the Captain and the Director had retreated into the house the night before, there was no sign of activity until the dawn sun was well over the horizon of the next morning.  

For Loki, sleep had been evasive at best. He still did not sleep soundly even within the most secure chambers of the Asgardian palace, an open field on a largely undefended realm was not going to be an improvement on that. It certainly didn't help that the memories of the void and of Thanos and of the Battle of New York had been freshly returned to the forefront of his mind over the last couple of days.  

There was always opportunity in insomnia however, a fact that he admittedly scolded Anthony for taking advantage of despite the obvious hypocrisy. For one, the length of time he had spent away from Asgard was beginning to weigh on him, and of course, the Thor problem was still very much extant. Thankfully, a night of undisturbed thought had brought about a glimpse of a solution. It would take come care and delicate self-control to pull off but it was more promising than the nothing he'd had the evening prior. If he could convince Thor that his presence here a completion of his redemption, that he was going to make amends for whatever perceived crimes he had once committed, perhaps the noble son of Odin would not force him to return to solitude once the Ultron business was completed. 

‘ _After all, what would have happened to Jane were I not there? Please dear brother, let me recede into anonymity? In the memory of our mother, let us not fight no longer_.’ 

The premise of his developing plan came close enough to groveling to make Loki wrinkle his nose in distaste, but sadly it may well be the only way to subvert Thor’s primary instinct of what justice might be. It would make for quite the complicated situation if Thor were to drag him back to Asgard and throw him at the foot of an empty throne. While it was not outside the realm of possibility for Loki to play both roles simultaneously, it would only take a minor slip up to lead to failure and likely a much worse fate. The idea did serve as a fragile contingency should he fail to convince Thor of his new found benevolence, especially since the argument on the Quinjet had already ham-stringed his new docile, congenial act somewhat... 

The first sign of life from the house was Anthony.  

His mortal stepped through the front door of the house not so long after the dawn’s light, paused for an exaggerated breath of air, glanced around until he spotted Loki, and then went down the porch stairs and headed in his direction, shoulders bunched slightly against the morning chill. As he covered the short distance with at a casual walk, Loki ran his gaze over the house itself, flicking his eyes between windows to see who might be watching the interaction that would follow.  

He couldn’t see anyone, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t anyone there.  

“Mornin’ grumpy,” Anthony greeted, his characteristic early morning cheer during Loki’s attention back to him, “Never took you for a camping out under the stars type. Should’ve said, we could’ve had a weekend away in the Rockies or something. In a nice, warm hotel suite with a heated pool obviously,” he glanced away as he realized that camping was not exactly what he was describing. “It’d have big windows.” 

And with that, Anthony had wiped a swathe of lingering unease from Loki’s mind away. He gave a small smile, “I was under the assumption that there would not be a bed made up for me inside.” 

“There might have been but Cap seemed a little…off after your little talk last night.” There was a subtle tone to Anthony's voice, one that Loki was concerned came a little close to accusatory for such an early hour.   

"A talk he initiated,” Loki pointed out.  

“He says you threatened him.”  

“Is that so?” Loki affected an exaggerated frown, as he pretended to consider something, “Funny, I presumed we were simply having a cordial conversation, I must be getting my Midgardian courtesies mixed up. Should I have ripped firewood apart with my bare hands instead?” 

A ripple of an irritated expression flickered over Anthony's face, quickly suppressed and Loki suspected that were his mortal not so distracted, he would not have seen it at all. “So, you did threaten him.” 

It wasn’t even a question, merely a disappointed statement. Loki exhaled as he held his mortal’s gaze, “I reminded him of my priorities,” he gave a careless shrug, “If he chose to perceive a threat then he clearly wasn’t listening to his status.” 

“God dammit Lokes, really?” Anthony rubbed a hand over his face, causing his mask of careless ease to slip. Despite what he presented, he had likely slept no more than Loki had. “I get that you’re in a bad mood and Cap is an easy target, but c’mon...I’m in there trying to make them see it’s a good idea to have you around, but there’s only so much I can do if you’re gonna lurk out here doing a bad Slenderman impression, threatening the soup delivery guy.” 

Loki crossed his arms defensively, “I don’t need their permission to be here.” 

“Yeah but you do need mine,” Anthony snapped with unexpected force.  

Loki clenched his jaw at the statement. He without argument as he held Anthony’s hard gaze. It was an uncommon expression, one that Loki had learnt to take seriously. Especially on the rare, and painful occasion it was directed at him. Loki could only bear to see it for about a second before he looked to the floor.  

At that, Anthony seemed to become aware of his expression and exhaled. When he looked back, Anthony had softened, and in that softness, Loki saw more of that exhaustion he always worked to hide. And what was Loki doing to uphold his promise to help?  

 “...Look, I love you, Lokes,” Anthony started again, his voice calmer, “Believe me, pull the Captain’s tail is one of my favorite games. Any other day of the week I’d be playing right alongside you, but we're not exactly on a usual 9-5. They’re scared, they’re staring down the barrel of an AI gunning for their lives and the last thing they want is to worry that you and me are in cahoots some secret side plot to bring them down from the inside.” 

“What would you have me do, Anthony?” Loki asked, tiredly, “Keep silent be ordered about like some common foot soldier?” 

“Yeah!” The urgency with which Anthony immediately responded caught Loki by surprise. “I don’t like it either, but that is what being a part of a team means sometimes.” 

Loki scoffed, “If there is one thing that has been made clear, it’s that I’m not a part of their team.” 

“No, you’re a part of mine.” 

Loki’s defences crumbled and the only thing he felt was shame. Shame that he had let his frustration at Thor and the Captain and his own worries to cloud his one reason for being here.  

“Once this is done, you can go back to being your usual lurk-y, vaguely threatening self all you want,” Anthony continued, “Hell, I’ll even join in, but right now I need you on my side. Right now, my side is their side. You’re gonna have to suck it up and get along with them as much as they’ve got to get along with you,” Anthony wagged a single chastising finger at him, a hint of his former cheerfulness reemerging, “So, play nice.” 

Loki inhaled deeply and dropped unfolded his arms in a show of surrender. “...And what does this...side propose the next steps be.” 

Anthony took a breath, glancing back at the house briefly, and the familiar mask of disinterest slipping back into place, “Cap, Nat, and Clint are going after Ultron in South Korea, we have theory he’s working on a body,” as he spoke, Anthony’s mask was being put back into place, “A new one. A more...human one ironically enough. Korea’s the only place he’s going to be getting that. I’m off to Norway to figure out why we’re not knee deep in nuclear winter yet. And Fury is giving Bruce a ride back to the Tower along with the Mind Stone. We’ll be regrouping there eventually.” 

Loki bit back the slew of questions that immediately came to mind. Unquestioning foot solder. Instead he just asked, “What of me?”   

"You happen to know where Thor went?” 

“I have some idea.” 

“Someone needs to keep him in the loop. Last thing we need if for him to come back here or wander off somewhere else when he works out we’re not here anymore. Reckon you can go find him and bring him back to the Tower when he’s done doing whatever it is he’s doing.” 

Loki rose a curious eyebrow, “You’re not curious as to his whereabouts?”  

 “Well I figured that there’s not a lot of point in asking what you guys get up to in your spare time,” Anthony gave him a shrug, “I wouldn’t know what you’re talking about anyway.” 

“He’s at the Waters of Sight, seeking guidance on a vision that Wanda Maximoff gave to him about the rise of Hel and the destruction of Asgard.” 

Anthony threw up a hand, “Ah yeah obviously. The Waters of Sight. Across the road from the puddles of hearing right? You can tell me all about whatever that is when we're all back at the Tower.” 

Loki smiled in fond amusement. 

Anthony returned it and then turned to look back to the house, “Alright, well the others are probably getting up. I should go join for the morning briefing. See you back at the Tower?” 

It was a genuine question, laced with uncertainty. Was he truly worried Loki would abandon him now?  

Loki gave a decisive nod, “Of course. I’ll return with Thor as soon as I can.” 

A look of relief swept over Anthony and he gave a grateful nod they turned and headed back into the house.  

Loki waited until he was certain his back was turned and ran his eyes over the house one last time before pulling the Tesseract from its hiding place and Stepping out of existence.  

 


End file.
